


The Missing Peace

by Slainfox



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Betrayal, Dark, Deception, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Flowey (Undertale) Being an Asshole, Gaslighting, Gen, Hallucinations, Hope vs. Despair, Insecurity, Introspection, Manipulation, Mental Instability, Mind Manipulation, Mistakes, Misunderstandings, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Papyrus (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Papyrus-centric, References to Depression, Repressed Memories, Sadness, Secrets, Self-Doubt, Self-Harm, Slice of Life, Suicidal Thoughts, Tormented Soul, Trust Issues, Undertale Saves and Resets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 55,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27907300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slainfox/pseuds/Slainfox
Summary: Flowey discovers Sans's secret workshop and wants to uncover what it hides, he plans to use of Papyrus to gain access to said room while making both of their lives miserable.Mostly Papyrus-centric. Various Character PoV.Will edit tags & description as story progresses.
Relationships: Alphys & Sans (Undertale), Flowey & Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Papyrus & Undyne (Undertale), Sans & Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 59
Kudos: 61





	1. F1 - Honest Lie, Seed of Doubt

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction and I sure hope it brings some joy to another soul.  
> I am unsure what my posting frequency will look like as I have a lot of personal doubts and a unusual working schedule... but ultimately, I wish to gain confidence with this experiment of mine using a known universe and the feedback it may or not provide me to help me finish my own original story.  
> I am truly grateful for any comment or feedback, and truly sorry if any depiction is lacking or incorrect.
> 
> I will try to add tags as I add more content, I don't feel I will be very good at that tagging stuff...

Flowey was unable to sleep, musing on what he could try next. What was even left to try? He needed a different outcome, he needed to find something new, something he had not already explored. But he was exhausted… what didn’t he already try, hundreds of times if not more. He bumped a rock with one of his roots flipping it over, nothing new or surprising under that, who would have guessed! He needed an idea to work with, something would come to him, he just needed a little extra inspiration, or he would turn as lifeless as that lazybones Sans. He perked up at the thought of that mysterious bastard, of course! He had found his lead and with a toothy grin, dug himself underground and started moving, lets see what Snowdin was up to this late at night.

\---

He approached the outskirts of the town, careful to avoid any hidden cameras, he already knew where all of them were anyway. The only locations that were still illuminated this late were obviously the Inn and Sans’s favorite, Grillby’s. All the locals knew him and liked him, he would joke and prank and speak with everyone, but no one knew shit about the guy. He was the polar opposite of his idiot of a younger brother that was literally an open book, as annoying as one could get and so easy to predict. Sans was very secretive and mysterious and not knowing something rubbed Flowey in all sorts of wrong ways, he had to be in control at all times.

He was beginning to tangle himself with hatred in his roots, when he noticed the subject of his turmoil leaving Grillby’s. He relaxed a bit and lowered himself further down in the snow, hidden in the shadow of a tree. Let’s see what he was up to at this hour.

Sans was gesturing quite a lot, usual fake smile plastered all over his face biding farewell to everyone still inside with annoying pun related jokes most probably, Flowey couldn’t get closer and risk being exposed. When the door to Grillby’s closed behind him, Sans started walking awkwardly back to his house, wobbling clumsily more so than walking and still displaying that moronic smile even though no one was around anymore. Who did he think he was fooling? This was so infuriating, he just wanted to slip out of hiding and snap all his tiny bones apart. Flowey’s roots were slowly twisting and tangling again, he had to keep calm and control his urges, he kept silent and observed intently his prey.

Sans continued forward towards his house, although it was all but a straight line, one could easily think him dead drunk, but Flowey knew acting when he saw it… he, himself was quite good at pretending after all. But why even pretend to be dead drunk when heading back to his own house when no one was around, it served no purpose at all and was quite boring to watch.

He almost tripped to the right, swung his arms about to regain his balance, took a few sudden steps in the opposite direction before falling face first behind his own house. Gosh even Flowey was beginning to think Sans was really dead drunk but he noticed something. It was only the fraction of a second, but it had happened, nonetheless. Sans’s left eye glowed blue and looked at something with a dead serious gaze. Sending a shiver down Flowey’s stem, most intriguing…

The fool immediately continued with his well rehearsed choreography pushing himself on his back and patting clumsily the snow that clung to his clothing away before standing back up and supporting himself on the walls of his home until he made his way back to the main door. He jumbled around with his keys, unable to unlock the door for a few minutes until his younger brother opened the door visibly annoyed with his sibling.

“SANS!!! We have work tomorrow! We have to do the maintenance and recalibration of our puzzles!!!”

Papyrus’s voice was always so loud, Flowey was pretty sure he could wake up the whole town at this rate. Sans let himself fall on his back, Flowey could see him clearly, the fake smile never leaving his features. He seemed to be replying and motioning clumsily to his brother, although he could not make out any of his words, he knew he was pulling his brother’s leg. What was he witnessing here? Sans was acting to his own clueless brother’s face, he could use that, he would use it to the fullest to tear at their relationship and he would enjoy every second of it.

He could not keep himself in check any longer, he curled on himself and bit hard on one of his vines to avoid laughing out loud. He quickly hid himself underground and went further away out of reach to let a maniacal laugh escape him. He knew what he would be doing this time around, and it would be amazing, he would savor it. But first, he needed to know what it was that Sans looked at before, he had a hunch it was something important, some crucial information that had escaped him until today.

\---

Flowey returned to his previous observation post as light was returning to Snowdin. Papyrus was walking frantically back and forth from the shed to the house, preparing a small pouch with tools and some food that he carried on his back. After a few trips he stood still face towards their house before growing visibly impatient and tapping on the ground with his foot repeatedly in an overly exaggerated motion. He was always wearing his emotions like a sleeve that one.

Papyrus straightened himself once more and seemed to be taking a huge breath and just pushed the doorway open and disappeared into the house, only to come back out with his brother tugged under his arms like a small animal a few moments later to Flowey’s surprise. Papyrus looked around a couple of times and just darted away, his brother still in tow. Sans had one eye shut and a burnt toast still hanging from his mouth while being carried away disappearing in the distance.

This was the most refreshing thing to look at, not only had this complete moron vacated the premises he desperately needed to inspect but he did so with such energy and efficiency it was just too good to be true.

Flowey approached carefully from the patch of wood behind the house. What could be hidden there to make Sans put on such a stern expression? He inched closer, wary of traps or devices, but everything seemed so ordinary.

“Nothing!?!”

No, this couldn’t be right, someone who kept on putting a facade up all the time like Sans had to be hiding something. Or was he being led on by that arrogant bastard? No, he couldn’t have been seen, he was always extremely careful to hide all his tracks, if even Alphys, the royal scientist, could not track him, no one could. There was something here, he was sure of it. He continued looking, clinging to the wall in desperate search of anything, until his vines sensed a small keyhole, he backed away a little and could barely see the outline of a door. It was barely visible, even to the trained eye, but there it was, a hidden door.

“A hidden room, heh? Hidden right under your own home, very clever.”

Why had he never noticed that secret room before… and how could he get it to open to see what it was hiding? Why not ask his ‘best’ friend Papyrus about it? If anyone could make progress into getting that door opened, sadly it would have to be the idiot in chief himself… He sighed at the thought of spending extended periods of time with Papyrus, it would be tiresome, but at least it was easy to weave around his inferior mind to get some sort of cooperation out of him. He had done so in the past and he could do it again if it served him well.

“Did he mention they would be working on puzzles today. Guess I should get going if I want to get behind that door.”

He made sure to hide any track he made while inspecting the house’s wall and slipped underground to go find his easily deceived skeleton friend.

\---

Flowey had finally found Papyrus and he was alone too, perfect. Not that he believed anyone wanted to stay and work with him anyway as he was… quite tiring company, to say the least. Didn’t hurt to be extra cautious, he would observe him from afar for now and make sure no one was there before approaching.

Papyrus was deeply invested into his dumb puzzle, lifting the floor tiles that hid way too many cables, connections and wiring for the simplistic purpose of the puzzle. Why was he even that invested into ‘calibrating’ these things when they could be outright avoided completely by just being wise enough to look at their surroundings or take a step to the left. Papyrus put the tile back in its place and stood back up straight with a popping noise. He then looked at his work with pride, hands resting on his hips. Guess now would be a good time as any to come in.

“Howdy Papyrus, what are you working on today?”

Papyrus jumped a little at Flowey’s voice and turned to face him, a genuine smile as usual.

“FLOWEY! Didn’t know you were around! Just in time too! I just finished working on this masterpiece! Look!!!”

Papyrus walked on the tile he had just put back in place, the surface of said tile changing from Cross to a Circle, to which Papyrus immediately motioned with open palms in Flowey’s direction to keep him from replying yet. Flowey sensed it would be one of those days…

“Pretty standard configuration, I know. But now, LOOK AT THIS!!!”

He proceeded step again gleefully on the same platform as it now switched from a Circle to a Triangle. Papyrus then moved away, his eyes dead locked onto Flowey’s expecting something. Flowey struggled to keep his friendly facade from dropping. What was so great about that? It held no meaning in the grand scheme of things. But he had to indulge his ‘friend’ a little to further his own goals.

He stared at the tile, then back to Papyrus mouth wide open, then covered his mouth with his main leaves acting amazed, he could already see the joy and pride growing in Papyrus.

“It’s amazing!”

Not that it was in the least.

“Did you do all that on your own?”

“I knew you of all people would notice my improvements!”

Papyrus was immediately flattered and struck a pose, trying to look cool by closing his eyes and grabbing his chin with his gloved hand. What a Gullible fool. Flowey knew he wouldn’t be able to work with him when he was that energetic and unfocused. He would have to keep conversing with him until his excitement died down. Flowey would need to make him talk more, however tiresome it might be to him.

“Improvementsssss!?! You made more than one? I knew it Papyrus!!! Tell me all about them!”

Flowey rested his head on his main leaves barely listening, it would be one heck of a long wait. What was behind that door better be worth all the effort he was putting into this! Papyrus’s eyes were lit up with enthusiasm at Flowey’s reply. He could see Papyrus was completely invested into showing him everything he knew and everything he worked on. He could hear his voice but wasn’t focusing on anything he said, trying instead to look as interested as he could and occasionally saying a “Wow!” or “Huh-uh!” with a bright smile.

\---

Papyrus had calmed down a little and was now sitting in the snow, his back resting against a boulder, contemplating his ‘masterpiece’ in silence, he seemed happy. He knew he could get inside Papyrus’s head when he was that way. It was now time to work his magic, making one of his own ideas into one Papyrus believed came from himself instead.

“You know Papyrus, I really enjoy the time I spend with you, you really are an amazing friend.”

Papyrus continued looking at his puzzle, beaming at the compliment.

“Yes, that I am! You are a lot of fun too Flowey!”

He was so easy to lead on, just throw a compliment or a praise his way and he latches on it, desperate for any recognition. He also always reacts well when others are in distress, drawbacks of his caring nature, let’s throw a little of that in there too.

Flowey stared at the ceiling, melancholy in his voice.

“But still… Papyrus… I can’t help but feel so sad for you sometimes…”

Papyrus sat up and straightened himself and looked directly at Flowey, confusion and concern visible on his face. He had taken the bait, it was going well.

“Sad? Flowey… why would you be sad? Everything is perfectly fine is it not?”

Ahh Papyrus, you really cannot ever see anything negative in anything, at least he now had his full attention. He turned to face him putting on an awkward smile, things were going his way.

“Ahh. No… sorry. I mean… I shouldn’t tell… you probably already know, anyway. Ha-ha, silly me!”

There was a hint of confusion on Papyrus’s face, but he made a laughable attempt to hide it.

“Hmm… oh yeah, that! Yeah! I know what you mean...”

Flowey purposefully let a silence linger on, he knew it would take time to let all that properly sink in his victim’s mind. He was starting to genuinely enjoy this exchange. He always enjoyed leading Papyrus on, watching him struggle with concepts he could not comprehend.

“I mean you always act so kind and cheerful to everyone even after all… that…”

“It’s only natural! Everyone would do the same, I am sure! Nyeh heh heh heh!”

Another dumb predictable answer, it was getting on his nerves, time to overload his mind with so much that he won’t be able to process any of it properly.

“No that’s not true, you know it! Papyrus, it’s just that, sometimes… I can’t wrap my head around why your brother would do such things to you… its just so painful to watch sometimes, you… you are… just too…”

“I… I, am not sure I follow…? What did Sans do… not, um… that I wouldn’t… know already.”

Papyrus was visibly shaken, although it seemed more out of concern for his brother or Flowey than himself.

“Well, you know……… no… I can’t… he… he must have his reasons…”

He curled himself on his stem turning away from Papyrus’s gaze, trembling, fighting the urge to laugh. He would have to end this quickly or risk exposing himself.

“Flowey… is it something I did or said? Did I do anything wrong? How can I fix it?”

“That! You see, it’s exactly that… I am so sorry, I didn’t know it was this bad… You are not at fault! Sans keeps on hiding everything from you even though you are his only brother and you are always so honest and good to him… he doesn’t trust you with anything… and… and… he hides that *thing* beneath your house… and… gosh no! I… shouldn’t…. I shouldn’t have!!!”

Flowey pulled his main leaves to cover his mouth barely holding his maniacal grin hidden from sight.

“Forget everything I said Papyrus… I just care about you too much and overstepped my boundaries… please forgive me!”

With what he figured was the height of his performance for the day, he hid his face with his petals, sobbing loudly as he pulled himself downwards and disappeared under the snow leaving his victim confused and dumbfounded.

“No wait, Flowey… I… I don’t… understand… please come back!”

Flowey could observe the scene from behind a rock in the distance. Papyrus was visibly agitated and having a hard time processing what he had been told. What would he do this time? Where would that decision lead him? Would that finally help him gain access to that unknown room? He had all the time in the world, literally. This would be fun and intriguing.


	2. P1 - Something budding your mind

Papyrus was confused at what had just happened, but he had a feeling that it was something he had done wrong. Something that hurt his friend Flowey and made him cry then run away. He would have to do something to cheer him up the next time he saw him, he could not be failing a friend like that. If only Papyrus knew where Flowey lived, he could go find him right now, but sadly, he did not. He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, at a loss on what he should be doing.

“What was Flowey trying to say to me…”

He kept on hearing what Flowey said, his words repeating over and over in his head and it just made him feel worse about himself. He looked up at his puzzle, all the excitement and joy he had been feeling previously, vanished. He was sure he was being a good friend too, Flowey even said so himself. But then something went wrong, and his friend had run away because of him. Why did he always struggle to make everything right? He hated feeling weak and useless like that… He wished he were stronger and dependable, like Undyne was.

“UNDYNE!!!”

His eyes lit up at the thought of his close friend and mentor, she was the strongest monster he knew, a true heroine and someone everyone turned to. She would know what to do, she always did. This was clearly something that could be resolved with strength, and who else could provide the best answers to his interrogations than the mighty spear of justice herself. He would have to give her his daily report too, might as well drop by a little earlier and put in some extra effort today. He stood up with renewed motivation and started his journey towards Waterfall. This would work, he would get stronger with her help.

\---

He was so lost in thought that he had not even noticed that he had already arrived in front of Undyne’s house. She did not seem to be there now though. She was probably still out on patrol somewhere. Papyrus figured it would be best to wait for her here than blindly trying to find her while she was being awesome on duty wherever she may be. He sat down beside her front door, his back resting on the wall. He was hoping she would be back soon, he really needed to get his thoughts sorted out.

“Flowey said Sans was doing something to me… and that there was something beneath our house… why would Sans not trust me or hide anything from me? Aren’t I an amazing and dependable brother…?”

Papyrus was pulled out of his deep thoughts by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. He lifted his gaze up to see Undyne approaching as she was removing her heavy helmet.

“Hey! Papyrus you’re here early! Can’t get enough of my lessons heh?”

Papyrus hurried to his feet, ashamed of the slouchy posture he had been seen in while Undyne was approaching. He was trying is best to look as serious as he could.

“I, Papyrus, came here to provide my daily report, Ma-am!”

“Ah come on Paps, drop the act! You know you don’t have any obligations to report to me like that.”

Papyrus flinched a little at the comment, he really wanted to make a good impression and it meant a lot to him to do so.

“I want to, its good practice for when I join the royal guard!”

Undyne secured her helmet in the pit of her arm and looked to the side for a second, a hint of pain in her expression.

“Yeah… I guess that’s true… Let’s just drop that for now. You came in early today and I know what that means, and I respect your burning passion!”

She took off her gloves and cracked her knuckles loudly, rows of teeth showing through a widening grin. Her eye was starting to flare up. Papyrus made an audible gulp, expecting to get suplexed by his boss anytime now.

“Now come on Paps! Let’s get this ultra serious intensive training session started! Let’s go pound some ingredients to smithereens! WOOO!”

Undyne grabbed him fiercely and swiftly by the arm and pulled him into her kitchen before he could even react or provide a reply, she was unstoppable. She threw her helmet and gloves in the corner of her round house. She was above even the laws of architecture? She untied her heavy armor in a swift motion and somersaulted out of it before it hit the ground landing next to her fridge, she was so damn cool.

“YEAH!!! I’M INTO THIS!!!”

Papyrus was getting riled up in his mentor’s awesomeness. She threw most of the fridge’s content on the kitchen counter and slammed its door shut. This was his time to shine, he felt glorious! He struck a pose before the kitchen counter.

“PREPARE YOURSELF!! For mushy mayhem! Ingredients will be smashed!!”

He dropped his fist with his statement feeling empowered, sending onion shrapnel everywhere.

“YEAH!! Papyrus, crush’em into oblivion!”

“Insides will be outsides!?!”

He continued swinging his fists up and down .

“That’s the spirit Papyrus!”

His head was spinning, he wanted to sound cool, to keep the momentum going, but nothing came to him.

“Undyne, what comes after that?”

“Choke the Artichokes!!!”

“Hmm… that doesn’t sound plausible.”

“Less questioning! More punching!”

His fist landed on a tomato. Juice, pulp, seeds flying everywhere. He could hear Undyne roaring with pride behind him. That was exactly what he came here for, it was all working out perfectly!

“Incredible, Undyne! I feel stronger already!”

“Of course, you Doofus! POUND some more, make it flat! FLATTER! 200% POWER!!”

“Two? Two-Hundred!?! How do I even…!?!”

“DON’T THINK!!! JUST SMASHHHH!!!!”

Papyrus’s eyes grew wider, he didn’t want to mess this up, both of his fists were already smashing away whatever remained under the pile of mush. He could sense Undyne behind him and felt the gaze of her deadly eye on his back. He knew that the wrong action would entail some retribution, he just slammed his head on the counter without thinking. Everything was suddenly spinning as he was wobbling a little.

“PAPYRUS!!! THAT was incredible! To think you would use your head like THIS! I LIKE THIS!!!”

Papyrus spat what he believed was an onion piece.

“PFFT Pfehh… you did!?!”

She grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, he couldn’t open his eyes as his face was still covered with dripping vegetable mush, she was shaking him back and forth with great vigor.

“Trust me Paps! That shit was hardcore! You really outdid yourself there, you really surprised me!”

Undyne let him go as he shook his head and wiped at his eye sockets trying to get some pulp out of there. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he could see Undyne scraping the results of his labour into a big container that she put aside.

He felt exhausted, and perhaps he was stronger now, it sure seemed like it when he looked at the state of her kitchen. Undyne was beaming with pride, she looked as though she had gone into culinary hell and came back out of the entrails of a giant tomato. She was covered in red paste and veggie guts and had a satisfied look on her face, looks like he did well and wouldn’t get suplexed today, what a relief.

She gave him a fierce slap behind his back and was grinning at him joyfully. She was in a good mood, now seemed a good time to ask away.

“Hey, um… Undyne, I was wondering…”

“Sure Paps, just shoot me with whatever you got!”

“What would you usually do when someone who is hurt runs away?”

She straightened up at the strangeness of the question, in thought, and wiped a piece of tomato from her chin with her right hand before slamming her thumb on her chest fiercely.

“Well, I’d chase their stupid ass down and get them to tell me what hurt them and track the culprit down into an alley of relentless pain and suffering!“

She was visibly confident in her answer but that didn’t sound right to Papyrus. Undyne lifted a brow at his silence and continued with a softer voice.

“Is there anything I need to know?”

He waved his hands in front of him, this wasn’t the way he had envisioned it in his head.

“No, it’s nothing! Just asking for a friend!”

She tilted her head sideways looking serious.

“Is that why you were here earlier than usual?”

“Undyne, I… need to get stronger, its important.”

“Look Paps, you’re plenty strong already. I don’t know why you are insisting so much on this now, but you don’t need to work yourself out like that, okay! You can count on me, you know…”

Something about her reply made him feel wrong, this wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“But, if I am strong enough, why aren’t I in the royal guard already? Why can’t I ever do things right?”

Undyne shifted her gaze away one hand stroking at her neck.

“Come on, Papyrus… you know… that’s n…”

He suddenly tensed up and replied without thinking, interrupting her.

“NO!”

Undyne was frozen in place, visibly surprised at Papyrus’s unusual tone and sudden reply. He stopped himself, noticing a confused and concerned look appear on Undyne’s face. No, he didn’t want to hear those words again, not now, not today. Why was Undyne using the very same words as Flowey? What else didn’t he ‘know’ that everyone else seemed to know? And now, she even had a similar pained expression, would she be running away too? What was he doing wrong today? He was feeling a lump in his throat, he had to get away before he made things worse. He didn’t want to be seen this way. He didn’t know what to do.

“Um… Sorry Undyne… I just, remembered, I forgot to… um… feed Sans’s pet rock this morning… So, I have to go.”

“Uhh… okay…? Pap… you sure about this?”

He forced himself to smile and used his usual energetic and cheerful tone.

“Absolutely, someone has to take responsibility for that rock!”

He just darted out the door, head hung low, he just had to get away before he made it any worse. Once he was out the door, he just started running without looking back. No good, he still felt something tightening inside his chest, this wasn’t quite the answer he was hoping for. What was he really looking for then? It didn’t feel right to be leaving Undyne like this, but it was better than to make her worry even more by staying there, he was certain of that at least. He didn’t want anybody to worry for him, ever.

\---

He had been running for so long he was completely exhausted, he sat down on the wooden bridge to catch his breath. He looked down and could see his reflection on the water’s surface, he was a real mess.

Dried vegetable paste splattered all over his face and everywhere, his clothes were half soaked in sticky mush, the other half had already dried off and was a crispy nightmare. He looked as if he had been on a condiment murdering spree and the smell must have been even worse. He would soon have to walk by one of his brother’s sentry stations. For once, he was hoping Sans would not be at his post, he just wanted to head straight home and wash everything away, it had been such a difficult and tiring day.

He put his left hand against his forehead, yeah that sounded like a good plan. He stood back up and started walking slowly back home.

\---

His trip was uneventful and lucky enough for him, Sans was not at his Waterfall station. Papyrus went in and headed straight into the shower, standing still under the warming and soothing stream. He scrubbed away at himself and his battle body until all traces of his previous mayhem were long gone. He stepped out, dried himself, went upstairs into his room where he just let himself fall face first into his bed surrendering into deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got another one out quite quickly, I did have some extra time and a blast imagining their interactions. Hope it will make someone else smile too!
> 
> And I absolutely did not have Arrogant worm's "Carrot juice is murder" song in my head for a good part of this chapter...
> 
> Gonna start working on the next one soon enough.


	3. P2 - It always gazes back

_He was running in the snowy valley, shouting Flowey’s name as loud as he could. He had to find him, he had to save him, but he kept on stumbling and falling in the deep snow until he was stuck up to his waist and couldn’t move anymore. He kept on crying out to his lost friend until he noticed large shapes approaching in the shadows. The shapes grew bigger and closer, whispering amongst themselves. As they grew closer, Papyrus could see they were the ingredients he had been smashing during his training, they were whispering and giggling at him, their voices mixing and resonating in his head._

_“You should not work yourself out like that!”_

_“Yeah you should know by now that you can’t accomplish anything on your own!”_

_“Everyone knows!” “Yes, everyone does!!!”_

_“No one relies on you!” “No one trusts you!”_

_He closed his eyes tightly and put his hands to the side of his skull, it wasn’t true, he was strong, and great…_

_He could fix this, he could make it right, he just had to try harder, that’s all._

_“You’re the only one who doesn’t know! Hihihi!”_

_“Let’s hide him!” “Yes! Yes! Deep, deep down!”_

_“Let’s dig him and hide him under his house!”_

_“Where no one will remember him!”_

_“No one will!” “No one will!!” “NO ONE WILL!!!”_

_The ingredients were all looming over him and laughing, stretching their arms to grab him until everything faded to black._

\---

He woke up in his bed trembling, his mind still hazy from his dream as he sat on his bed, breathing heavily. His arms were sore, and his hands were pulsing with pain. When he tried to stretch them open, they began trembling from the strain. Guess he did go a little overboard yesterday with his training. He stood up and instantly and felt a little dizzy, he shook his head, trying to chase it all away and walked towards his window. He looked outside and noticed it was already bright out, it was unusual for him to oversleep like that.

At least today was a day off, so he wasn’t late for anything. He stretched his back and popped a few bones before making his way into the kitchen, he was hungry.

As he went through the doorframe of the kitchen, he could see Sans sipping on a coffee mug, a car magazine open in front of him on the table. He was being extra aware of his brother’s presence, unsure how to initiate conversation with him with all the confusion still present in his head. Lucky for him Sans didn’t seem to be acting any different from his usual self.

“Mornin’ Bro.”

“Morning Sans.”

“Guess Undyne trained you pretty hard yesterday, heh.”

His brother was looking directly at him head rested in one of his palms winking.

“How do you know that!?!”

Did Sans have some sort psychic powers? Sans’s grin grew wider as he shrugged at him.

“What can I say, the drain smelled like sour soup, you didn’t bother eating anything last night and you overslept even me!”

Oh, if he lays it out like that, guess he isn’t a psychic after all then.

“Well I wasn’t even hungry anyway, and this morning was… well… some secret warrior’s… meditation training, obviously!”

Sans returned to his slouching position and took a sip of coffee.

“But yeah, me knowing all that also has nothing to do with that bump on your head, Bro.”

Sans was winking again and pointed one of his fingers to his own forehead.

“My what?!? - Yowie!”

He flinched as his hand touched the area where he had slammed his head with a full swing on Undyne’s kitchen counter, he heard his brother chuckle in his chair. Papyrus felt slightly annoyed, he hated feeling clueless and ridiculed.

“That was my new finishing move! And Undyne was quite impressed by it in fact!”

“Always knew you were the ‘hard-headed’ one of us, bro!”

Papyrus was fuming inside. He clenched his sore hands, as lazy as Sans may have been, there was no winning against him when he started ‘punning’ you down. He took a few breaths and let it slide, opting instead to get a glass of water and a slice of bread. He sat down beside his brother who was now reading an article on a sports car.

Papyrus could not see anything different about his brother, nothing seemed out of the ordinary or unusual. Was Flowey wrong about him? Or was Sans really hiding something? Why was he feeling so bad and confused inside? He didn’t know how to bring this up to his brother so that he would take him seriously. He finished his toast, downed his glass of water, and tried phrasing his thoughts the best way he could.

“Hey Sans…”

“What’s up bro?”

“There isn’t anything under our house, right?”

Sans lifted one brow, still reading his magazine, answering casually.

“Well, we have the floor, the ground, some rocks I guess…”

“Not that, Sans! I… mean… augh, never mind! So, then… do you have any power, that you would be using, like to mind control me or something?”

Sans lifted his head from his magazine an incredulous look across his face.

“Whoa Bro… you sure you didn’t hit your head a little ‘too’ hard yesterday?”

Papyrus pushed himself standing from his seat, again, this wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“I am perfectly fine!!! You know that I the Great Papyrus, always am!”

Sans lifted his arms up a little in a surrendering motion.

“Sure, sure, you are… but just watch it with the ultimate attacks, okay?”

Sans seemed genuinely concerned but it didn’t make Papyrus feel any better and he still couldn’t get his thoughts to settle down. He puffed his chest trying to impress his brother.

“My attacks are all about fairness! I have standards after all!”

He put his glass away in the sink, his hand slightly trembling from soreness, he knew he would have to find Flowey, and he could not waste any more time with his lazy bones of a brother.

“And my puzzles are in dire need of my attention!”

Within a few quick strides he had left their house and was leaving Snowdin towards the ruins.

\---

Papyrus had just made it back to his puzzle and noticed his pouch of tools that he had forgotten behind. He crouched beside it and stared at it sadly. It was half buried in the snow and reminded him that he had abandoned it as he had done so for his friend Flowey. He felt utterly disappointed in himself. How could he do that to his Friend when he needed him? He shook his head and stood back up. He wasn’t going to run away now. It was his responsibility to find him!

Papyrus headed deeper into the valley, running through rows and rows of trees, calling out to Flowey every other second. He kept going further and further into the valley, fixated on finding his friend even if he had no idea where he was going, or where he could find him. He had to give this his everything, he had to find his friend and get rid of this awful feeling that was clenching at his soul.

There was so much snow everywhere, it was tiring just walking around. He sat down to catch his breath for a moment. He looked around, the wind had been slowly picking up for a while and was sending snowflakes dancing everywhere. He glanced behind him and noticed that his tracks disappeared completely after only a few steps. He started feeling anxious, realizing he was now lost.

He turned his head again, certain he heard something snap and crunch behind a tree further away, could it be Flowey? Had he been lost too since yesterday? He had to keep pushing onwards. He could not give up now. He stood back up with renewed determination and headed towards the direction the noise came from.

“I will find you! Just wait for me Flowey!”

As he continued moving further into the valley the wind kept on growing, soon enough he could barely see in front of him because of all this snow. He kept on occasionally hearing something in the distance, something like a voice or a whisper and followed it as best as he could. Something cracked further ahead, he wasn’t letting this chance slip by and dashed forward.

After only a few steps, he heard another crack, this time louder and right under him. He felt himself falling, his feet breaking through a layer of hardened snow and ice as he was swallowed in the snowy abyss. There was nothing to grab onto, everything was white and spinning. He felt himself hit the ground face first with a loud crunch, the pain of the impact on his already injured head enough to make him pass out instantly.

\---

He felt as if he was still spinning and falling. Something was tugging and poking his shoulders. He could hear something very far away. He focused on the sound, it was someone speaking.

“Papyrus! Hey! Papyrus wake up!”

He opened his eyes, a familiar golden figure undulating above his face. He blinked a couple of times unsure if he was dreaming.

“F-Flowey…?”

A gentle yet concerned smile appeared on his friend’s face. He was able to push himself up to a sitting position feeling a little dizzy.

“Are you alright Papyrus?”

He felt a rush of mixed emotions and grabbed both of Flowey’s main leaves with his hands.

“Flowey! I was looking for you everywhere!”

“You were?”

Flowey’s voice sounded surprised. Papyrus held onto his leaves firmly, trembling, as he let everything that was on his mind burst out at once.

“You don’t have to be sad anymore. I’ve talked to Sans and I know he isn’t hiding anything or doing anything wrong, so please don’t run away… please don’t cry, there is nothing to worry about!”

Papyrus fell forward on his elbows, releasing his hold on Flowey, he felt a wave of exhaustion go through his whole body. He sensed a vine crawl on his back, gently patting at him.

“Please, calm down Papyrus… I promise I am not going anywhere.”

Flowey helped Papyrus into a more comfortable sitting position with his vines. His expression suddenly changing into one of concern.

“Papyrus! You are injured!”

Flowey reached out to the bump on papyrus’s forehead, he looked in pain. He didn’t want his friend to worry again, he moved back a little and brought a hand up to cover it from view.

“Oh that, its just from my training yesterday with Undyne, she was really impressed with my progress.”

Papyrus smiled cheerfully, knowing the news would surely make his friend happy.

“Wow! That’s amazing news Papyrus! When are you starting your first guard duty, I want to be the first to see you in your new shining armor friend!”

Flowey twisted around on himself visibly elated by the news. Papyrus flinched, sad at the realisation that he would have to disappoint him.

“Um well…. I am not quite in the royal guard…. Yet.”

Flowey tilted his head sideways, bringing one leaf up to his mouth, pensive.

“But didn’t you say she was impressed and said you were plenty strong herself?”

Papyrus flinched again, his hands instinctively latching at his arms, hugging himself in comfort.

“She… she did, but… she must have a….”

Flowey gently put a leaf on Papyrus’s mouth to stop him, he was looking away his features drooping.

“No Papyrus, truth is…. she will never let you in the royal guards…”

His voice was soft barely above a whisper. Papyrus tried to look him in the eyes, something painful growing in his chest, his arms were beginning to tremble.

“Flowey… I don’t understand…. how can you be so sure…?”

Flowey lowered his head, his expression hidden by shadows, his leaves hanging lifeless on his sides.

“I already told you Papyrus…. It really pains me to do so, it truly does, believe me.”

Papyrus extended a shaky hand to grab one of Flowey’s leaves, trying to get him to look his way. Tears were slowly forming in Papyrus’s eye sockets.

“I don’t understand Flowey, tell me!”

Papyrus’s voice was shaky, afraid to hear Flowey’s response.

“They are all lying to you, Papyrus.”

Flowey was still looking away. His words felt like needles piercing Papyrus’s soul, he had to be wrong about something.

“But… Sans wouldn’t lie to me, I know it!”

Papyrus’s gaze was darting from left to right, his head was throbbing painfully, his thoughts racing.

“Papyrus…”

Flowey’s voice was soft, but Papyrus couldn’t stop himself and didn’t let him continue his sentence.

“He is the one who raised me and took care of me for as far as I can remember… you have to be wrong about him!”

Flowey turned to face him, his expression was serious, his leaves resting on his cheekbones.

“I can prove it, Papyrus.”

Flowey’s eyes, they were completely absent of any doubt, he could feel his very soul wavering. Papyrus was barely able to form the words, tears flowing down freely on his face.

“But… how?”

Flowey moved back a little and shifted his gaze to the ground, he seemed ashamed of something.

“I have found the door to his hidden room.”

“But… Sans… he told me…”

Flowey extended his vines and leaves in Papyrus’s direction, he was smiling softly as he approached his head until it rested on the lump on his forehead.

“He lied Papyrus… I told you, they all lied.”

Papyrus’s vision became blurry and he just curled on himself sobbing, too tired to do anything else. Flowey started wrapping him soothingly with his vines and rocking him back and forth gently.

“Just take it easy Papyrus… I will carry you back home, okay? I’ll show you everything…. You’ll understand”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will start going downhill from now on. Tried a different formatting for the dream part, don't know how that will come across...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed - Next chapter will be in a longer while, as I have some gaming habit to tend to later tonight for a highly anticipated game *ahem* Cyberpunk *ahem*.
> 
> Thanks for all the hits, kudos & comments - really appreciate it and it helps a lot.


	4. F2 - Setting the stage

Flowey was proud of his accomplishment, Papyrus did not disappoint at all.

Flowey had been keeping a close eye on Papyrus from the moment that he came back to the puzzle he had been working on yesterday. He wouldn’t have guessed that leaving him clueless and alone in the snow would produce such incredible results in such a short time!

He had him exactly where he wanted him; Curled up, his mind in shambles and wrapped within his tendrils. The fool had even managed to cry himself to sleep. Flowey took this opportunity to start carrying him back towards Snowdin safely while remaining hidden from sight.

Papyrus was absolutely on point when he said that he didn’t have to be sad anymore, that there was nothing to worry about. Only him would be dumb enough to come to his own tormentor to try and ‘save’ them, how adorable!

His inner turmoil had pushed him to actively seek Flowey at a complete disregard for his own safety. Papyrus’s selflessness and caring nature would serve him well. Obedient and Dependent, those were the key words. But it was not without drawbacks…

Flowey frowned and bit his lower lip, recalling how Papyrus had almost ruined everything, venturing deep in the frozen valley, blindly navigating in the blizzard, and falling into the ravine. He didn’t know if he should qualify him as courageous or reckless. He could see that Papyrus was lost and scared, it was visible in his actions, but he kept on going further in the icy wasteland, nonetheless. His dedication to Flowey’s wellbeing and safety was almost… touching.

Flowey had heard the icy sheet shatter and crumble and knew he would have to act quickly. Flowey struggled to find an unconscious Papyrus at the bottom of the valley and made haste to dig him out from under the pile of compacted ice and snow. He even had to use his magic to mend a few broken bones after his fall. He kept watch over him while the blizzard died down making sure Papyrus wouldn’t dust on him. He needed to protect his investment after all, so much was a stake and depended on this gullible fool. He couldn’t have him break this early in the game.

He knew very well that no one could untangle the emotional mess that he had put Papyrus in. No one was able to maneuver Papyrus’s mind like he did. He had observed, used, and toyed with him so many times through all those resets that he knew everything about him, not that there was much complexity to him to begin with. Papyrus was a simpleminded monster, and he would always be dancing helplessly to his tune in any timeline.

Flowey closed his eyes and tilted his head tilted backwards with an elated smile, he could feel his puppet twitching between his roots and occasionally mumbling something unidentifiable. Most probably a nightmare he was trapped in. Quite delightful!

“How would that idiot have said it? Ah yes, this is a most decisive victory for the great Flowey! Hee hee hee...”

The tricky part would now be to keep him mentally broken, but focused. He would have to walk the fine line of being Papyrus’s only source of comfort and truth. The challenge itself was something new and refreshing. He didn’t like playing the caring and comforting part, but he had to admit that there was some sense of pride to be had in modifying the very beliefs of another being or controlling their every thought.

“Time to set the final piece in place.”

Flowey wrapped Papyrus in a cocoon of roots and dug himself along with his prey underground and was heading towards the small forest behind the skeleton’s house. He carefully popped his head out to made sure no one was nearby before bringing Papyrus out. Now was the time to cement Papyrus’s new reality in stone, one where Flowey would slowly become the central pillar of his life.

Flowey approach the curled-up twitching skeleton and grabbed his shoulder, firmly shaking him to force him to wake up. It didn’t take long for Papyrus to jolt awake almost letting out a scream, luckily Flowey was able to quell the sound by hugging him tightly and covering his mouth with his leaves.

“Shhh…. Hush Papyrus…. Calm down everything is fine. Its me, Flowey, you are not alone.”

Papyrus’s body was still somewhat tense, but Flowey knew he wouldn't shout now, so he let go and moved away to give him some breathing space. He would take his time; it had already proven a wise decision with his current victim.

“You were having a nightmare Papyrus, take it easy, calm down.”

Papyrus was sweating and looking around confused, his gaze eventually stopping in the direction of his house just beyond the treeline. Realizing where he currently was, he immediately brought his hand up to his mouth as if to prevent himself from regurgitating.

“Papyrus, I brought you here, you remember why?”

Papyrus was hunched over and shaking his head sideways, visibly unable to form any words. He sure remembered alright, he was just frantically trying to deny it and repress the very thought of being betrayed. Flowey grinned to himself.

“You have to Papyrus… you must know the truth, you deserve it. Let me show you.”

Papyrus brought his hands to the side of his skull, trembling like a leaf. Flowey approached him, lowering himself to the ground so he could see his face.

“Papyrus…?”

Papyrus was still trembling and was avoiding looking into Flowey’s eyes.

“Flowey…. I……. don’t… know if I can…”

Papyrus was clenching hard onto his own right forearm, a good sign, he was trying to get a grip on himself. His shaking was slowly subsiding.

“Papyrus, I understand how you are feeling, I know it’s hard, believe me I do… but you have to see it for yourself.”

Papyrus was looking down at his shaking hands.

“I am not sure…. I want…. to…”

Flowey delicately wrapped one of his vines around Papyrus’s hand, gently guiding him.

“Just follow me Papyrus, I am there for you, okay? Everything will all be alright, trust me.”

His arm was limp and there was no resistance left in it. Flowey was able to get him to stand.

“….o-okay…”

Papyrus was slowly following with a tired expression, Flowey was wondering just how he was managing to stand up considering the amount of damage he had sustained during that fall. He would probably be feeling the pain the next morning and that was not Flowey’s problem, on the contrary, it would most surely help him, he just knew it. The cracks were mended but they were still very present.

Papyrus snapped out of his torpor and lifted his gaze at the wall. Flowey could see a faint smile and some tears budding in his eye sockets. He weakly pointed his right hand towards the wall and continued with an attempted cheerful tone.

“You… see Flowey… There… is nothing here… y…”

Flowey carefully took hold of his hand and pulled it towards the wall so it would rest against the keyhole. Papyrus froze in place as he was finally noticing the outline of the door. Flowey released his hand as it fell limply beside Papyrus’s body.

“Why... why is it... real… why is that here…?”

Papyrus eyes were locked on the secret door but Flowey could see that his vision was shaking, it was slowly sinking in.

“Because everything I told you is true Papyrus… please take some time to think about it. You are tired, exhausted and been through so much lately. Take a few deep breaths, it will help you.”

“Why… would he hide something like this… from me?

Papyrus’s left hand had moved over to grab his right forearm and he was clenching it hard enough that Flowey could see the bones slightly bending. Was he inflicting pain on himself to make sure what he was witnessing was real? That was quite new. Flowey moved in closer to him and pulled a leaf over Papyrus’s back.

“I also want to know the very same thing Papyrus… why don’t we discover it together? You and I.”

“Why are you doing all this?”

Flowey was slowly getting there, just a little nudge. He couldn’t bring up anything too drastic for now, it would have to be progressive. Flowey looked at Papyrus with comforting eyes, extended a leaf and grabbed Papyrus right hand. He did not flinch, did not react, simply stood still, his gaze absent, his mind fixated on that door.

“Because I care about you, friend… and I also believe your brother is a good person deep down, he did raise you after all, right? You said so yourself… and we can’t judge him without knowing, right? If we find what is hidden behind that door, we might understand the reason why Sans hid all this in the first place.”

Papyrus had released his grip on his own forearm, acknowledging that Sans was a ‘good’ person meant a lot to him. Everything had to be slow and gradual for this plan to work smoothly and ripping their whole relationship apart would sadly have to wait a little longer. Flowey looked intently at his reactions, this was the most crucial part of today’s strategical move. There was a long silence.

“Yeah… that sounds right… thanks.”

Flowey could have hugged the fool until his head popped out. Good boy.

“Let’s keep this to ourselves, okay? We’re in this together Papyrus!”

“……….yeah…”

“I am so sorry I had put you through all this… I knew you were strong enough to understand! I am so proud of you Papyrus! I’ll come find you later and we can discuss what’s next.”

Flowey disappeared underground leaving Papyrus standing still, a blank expression on his face. He observed him from afar as he stood there. Minutes passing by, as he repeatedly grabbed himself with trembling arms before he dragged his feet back inside looking completely beat up. At least Papyrus wasn’t melting down in a sobby mess and was moving on his own, some rest would do him well. 

Flowey waited a few more minutes before coming back out to erase all the tracks they had left behind. He could still hide his intentions for now, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Sans would start noticing that something is wrong. Papyrus was in no way a threat, but Sans on the other hand, had the potential to make everything go to waste. He had to do things flawlessly or whatever was hidden behind that door would vanish without a trace, the pending knowledge escaping him forever.

He still had a lot of planning to do for the next phase of his plan. A lot of it would be hinging on his new ally too. He knew he would also have to use his powers and that would draw Sans’s attention on him. He needed to make use of all that in the most efficient way possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a pain to put together, put I hope it came out okay and makes enough sense.
> 
> Expect publishing speed to slow for the next weeks (Work related reasons).
> 
> As usual any/all feedback is deeply appreciated.


	5. P3 - Expanding Ripples

Papyrus closed the door behind him and leaned on it, he was mentally and physically drained. He couldn’t stop hearing the same thing over and over.

*He lied Papyrus…*

He closed his eyes and shook his head violently, trying to push it all deep down inside him.

*He lied to YOU!*

“STOP!”

He had to make this stop. He pushed himself away from the door and didn’t even bother to remove his boots and headed straight into the shower turning the stream on, gripping his head in pain. The sound of running water on his skull was drowning everything else and helping him shut off the voice in his head. He leaned against the wall and let himself slide down, sitting, feeling heavy, his hands slipping weakly to his sides. Papyrus looked at the water running between his feet and noticed a light gray hue spiraling down the drain. His eyelids were heavy, his head felt even heavier… his vision slowly narrowing down to a single dot until everything faded to black.

_He was there again, something dark whispering from deep within his skull, he felt miserable._   
_*He lied Papyrus…*_   
_No… that’s not exactly it… Sans was just…_   
_*He lied to ‘YOU’ Papyrus…*_   
_There had to be a reason behind all this… Sans wouldn’t…_   
_*You must see it for yourself Papyrus*_   
_The ground started to rumble and recede from under his feet, he felt sick with apprehension._   
_“No… please, no… not again…”_   
_He felt himself falling into the abyss, he saw the ground far below approaching way too fast, until he made contact and heard the same loud crunching noise resonate inside his skull._

He screamed in terror as he was abruptly snapped awake still sitting in the shower. The water, now ice cold. How long had he been in there…? He shivered, the cold seeping deep into his bones. He extended his arm to turn off the stream. He then pushed his back to the wall with his legs and used it to help him back on his feet. He took the first towel he found within reach and painfully dried himself.

He walked out into the living room unsteady, his head throbbing with every step. He had to reach his bedroom.

“Pap?”

He had to stay awake, he didn’t want to fall into the abyss again, he knew for sure that he would go back there if he were to simply close his eyes for too long.

“Um… Bro?”

He just needed to go into his room, and he would find a way to keep himself busy and awake, yeah that sounded like a good plan. He continued walking, the stairs were within sight.

“PAPYRUS!!!”

Papyrus stopped and turned his head to the left, his eyes widening at the sight of his brother sitting on the couch, since when had he been standing there? When did he come back to their house? Why was he looking at him with such a pained expression? Papyrus’s thoughts were hazy, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. He turned his gaze to his feet unable to look Sans in the eyes, why was he feeling so guilty?

“Pap… what happened to you???”

He just wanted to run away and hide forever, he didn’t know how to deal with all the conflicting thoughts inside his head. He had rarely seen Sans with such a pained and sad expression, and it just made Papyrus feel worse about the whole situation… Papyrus could do better, Sans deserved a better brother. He didn’t want him to bear anything on his own anymore. He stood as straight as he could and brought his right thumb to his torso with a serious expression. He just had to say something cool, something great, something heroic, something… anything…

“I… am great, the greatest! Nyeh heh… heh… heh…”

“PAPYRUS!!! What is going on!?!”

Papyrus twitched, his brother’s voice sounded angry, distressed. Sans was now standing, fists clenched to his sides. Was his response not convincing enough…? He had to try again. Sans didn’t need to deal with anything else, he could handle this on his own.

“Sans… don’t worry. Everything is all right! I… never fail.”

His eyes were growing heavier and heavier, all this thinking and communicating were completely draining him. He had to get to his room, he would be safe and alone there, he could figure something out, he wouldn’t be a burden to his brother there. He turned to the stairs, were they always that steep?

“Can you even hear me at all Paps?”

He lifted his foot and felt himself take a nosedive, the sensation of himself falling filled him with dread as he let out a scream of terror. He instinctively moved his arms around his head instead of trying to prevent himself from hitting the ground. He could already hear the impending crunching noise in his head, he was going to die, he was sure of it. He shut his eyes in terror. He felt his soul grow heavy as everything went spinning. He felt something soft and warm push against his back. He opened his eyes and could see Sans’s blurry panicked face beside him, he was now resting on the sofa, Sans’s left eye was glowing blue.

“Papyrus… calm down! I got you… just breathe, okay!”

He couldn’t move a single limb, his brother was holding his soul down. He was terrified, he had completely lost it.

“Shit, Pap! Your skull its… covered in cracks… What happened!?! "

“Sans… let me go! I don’t want to fall, please let me go… I don’t… want… to fall again…”

“I have to heal you Pap, please bro, calm down… “

“Sans… I don’t want to fall asleep… please… help me. I can’t fall asleep.”

“Please Papyrus, you have to listen to me… I really need you to calm down… I need to release your soul before I can heal you. Promise me you’ll stay calm once I release my blue magic, please Bro. I promise I won’t let you sleep Bro, okay, I won’t let you sleep, but please, just do this for me.”

He concentrated on his brother’s voice, tried to slow his breathing.

“…okay…”

He felt the weight holding onto his soul slowly being released. He felt his brother’s hand rest over his forehead, the pain was stinging but was soon followed by a warm soothing sensation. Papyrus struggled to stay awake, bringing his left hand to grab his right forearm and digging his fingers in as hard as he could to prevent himself from falling asleep.

“Papyrus… please… say something to me…”

Papyrus was trembling, he was the worst brother ever and Sans was the greatest brother one could ever hope to have.

“Sans… I… am so sorry…”

Papyrus felt his brother embrace him tightly, he wasn’t sure if the trembling he felt was himself or his brother. Sans’s voice sounded distant in his mind.

“No, no… no Paps… it was never your fault… I………… tell me what happened, please…”

Sans was still hugging him, all he could see was his brother’s jacket, it stank of ketchup and grease. He thought he could feel water droplets on his skull, was Sans crying? Papyrus gripped his forearm a little tighter and opened his mouth his voice barely coming out.

“… I………… I… fell, down… in the blizzard… my head… it just hurts… I keep hearing… the sound it makes… I don’t want… to sleep… Sans… I… am afraid…”

Sans had stopped hugging him and moved back placing both of his hands on each side of his skull, making sure their gazes met. Papyrus felt as if he was looking through his very soul, Sans was smiling softly, a gentle green glow emanating from his hands.

“You’re safe now bro, I’m here okay, you won’t fall. You’re at home with me on our sofa. And if anything happens to you, I’ll be there to catch you with my blue magic. I won’t ever let you fall, okay? You won’t fall, you can trust your big bro.”

Papyrus felt as if a huge burden was suddenly removed from his soul, he closed his eyes, slowly giving in to exhaustion.

“… Sans… thank you…”

\---

Papyrus was pulled from his dreamless slumber, shivering. He lifted his head, wincing and looked around. He was still on the sofa, covered by his brother’s hoodie. Where was Sans? He sat up slowly, he was feeling a little better but still in pain. He noticed that his scarf and his shirt were gone, he didn’t remember removing them. He could hear the water running in the washroom, his brother was probably showering. He brought a hand to his skull, it still hurt but it was manageable, he had to thank Sans for everything.

He grabbed his brother’s Hoodie, stood up and slowly approached the door to the washroom. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard his brother’s voice, sobbing. He held his hand and leaned in to listen, his soul tightening in his chest.

“I don’t want to go through this again… please don’t leave me bro… I can’t lose you too… I need you…”

Papyrus brought Sans’s hoodie closer to his chest, hugging it tightly. Was this really happening, was this another nightmare?

“Why can’t I wash the dust away… why can’t I even do this for him… this outfit means so much to him… why do I keep on failing him over and over… Pap… I’m so sorry…”

He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything. Paralyzed at the sudden realization of his brother’s hidden struggles. Sans was in so much pain, he just had to push that door and… and… he would…

“I’m the worst… complete garbage… Papyrus deserves a better brother… he never asked for any of this… I have to take responsibility… I have to…”

Papyrus had never heard Sans speak this way… was that how he really felt… all this time? He felt disgusted with himself for never noticing. He could hear his brother was in so much pain. He had to find out what it was that was weighting down on Sans… He wanted to help him like what Sans had done for him a few hours earlier… Everything made sense to him now… Sans didn’t lie to hurt him or betray him… Sans was bearing the pain of some secret alone, Papyrus had to find the truth and get stronger for his brother’s sake.

He knew what he had to do now, no more baby bones, his brother needed him. He straightened himself up and headed up the stairs with renewed determination.

He went in his room, dropped Sans’s hoodie on his computer desk and changed into warmer, clean clothes. He instantly felt better about himself, like if he was finally getting his things together. He would clean the rest of his battle body later. He looked at Sans’s hoodie, he was grateful of his brother’s care and attention, the least he could do was bring it back to him. Papyrus neatly folded the hoodie with care and went out into the corridor, stopping right before Sans’s bedroom door.

He hesitated a moment, his shaky hand above the doorknob, knowing full well that the only thing standing between him and the chaotic dimension was this wooden door. He shook his head, he had to be strong… His brother needed him more than ever. He pushed the door open and stepped in.

He knew exactly what was beyond that door, but it pained him so much more with the new knowledge he had gained. Was he really that dumb to not notice the extent of his brother’s suffering? The floor, the mattress, the self-sustaining trash tornado… every little detail he observed increasing the distress growing within his soul.

“Sans… I...”

He continued walking toward Sans’s drawer reminding himself to stay strong. He put the folded hoodie on top of the furniture and opened the drawer, trying to keep himself from sobbing. Everything was messed up, why was he so blind to everything around him...? He blindly shuffled around trying to make some room in the chaos of the drawer for the hoodie, when something metallic moved inside.

“What’s that…?”

Papyrus wiped budding tears in his eye sockets with his sleeve and dug one hand in the pile of greasy clothes, something was laying at the bottom, he grasped it and pulled it out.

“A… key?”

His hand was shaking, he already knew what that key was for… his thoughts were racing again, no, no… he had to calm down. He had more urgent things to do for now. He took a deep breath, his brother needed him… he had to be dependable. He slid the key into one of his pockets and closed the drawer. He had to get out before letting his emotions take over, he had to stay strong. He let the hoodie on top of the furniture and promptly exited his brother’s room. He closed the door in silence, the water was still running in the washroom downstairs.

_*Let’s keep this to ourselves, okay? We’re in this together Papyrus!*_

Flowey would know what to do… but for now, he had to help his brother. He didn’t want his brother to worry for him anymore, he wanted to prove to him that he was a big bone now. Sans could rely on him. He would be the one helping him now and not the other way around. Never again. Papyrus stood straight, put on his Sunday best smile headed downstairs in the kitchen.

“Time to prepare some breakfast spaghetti!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far, this little project of mine is bringing me a lot more pleasure than I thought it would, I am so into this. Gonna start slowly working on the next chapter. 
> 
> Hope it bring a little something to another someone out there.
> 
> =^.^=


	6. S1 - Actions speak in uppercase

Sans thoroughly inspected the scarf and shirt of his brother’s battle body one last time; it was finally rid of all traces of dust. His hands were sore from all the intense scrubbing and rinsing he had done, but at least he could spare his brother from viewing this gruesome sight. He knew very well that this outfit reflected to everyone on the outside how Papyrus envisioned his ideal self. It was yet another way for him to try and get people to acknowledge and know him. The memory of Papyrus’s expression when he had first donned it, still very clear in his mind.

His brother was such a paradox… the strongest and toughest monster he knew… yet, unable to bring himself to harm a single thing. His desire to help and protect only matched by how much of himself he was ready to sacrifice for his dreams and ideals… Sans felt like such a coward compared to his brother.

Sans walked past the mirror and took a glance at himself; his traits were pulled down and he looked greasy. Nothing unusual there, but he knew it would be extra hard to keep his usual charade up today. He slapped his hands on his cheekbones twice, and there it was, that mister popular smile, he felt like trash.

Although he was not the best at healing magic, Sans had managed to heal all the visible cracks on his brother’s skull. Just reminiscing about it sent a shiver down his spine. Just where could his brother have fallen to sustain such atrocious damage…? How did he even manage to get back home in that state? He knew it in his soul that his brother wasn’t lying about falling, but something was not adding up… something was missing.

He walked out of the washroom and could hear Papyrus humming a MTT theme song to himself in the kitchen. He rolled his eyes, of course Papyrus would already be awake and hard at work. Part of him was happy that he was up and about with his usual routine, but he knew deep down that Papyrus was just overdoing it. Why couldn’t he just stay down and rest up? Anybody else would have done so. Sans clenched his fists in his pockets, he knew he couldn’t stop his brother from doing anything… Papyrus was just always true to himself like that, he always had to keep himself busy.

He let out a sigh and walked into the kitchen, a simper smile on his face. Time to play his part, then.

“Mornin’ Pap.”

Papyrus’s head jolted up and slightly turned to the side he was smiling but Sans couldn’t see his eyes. His back was facing Sans.

“Ah, Morning Sans! Just give me a few moments and I will complete my culinary opus! I just know you’ll enjoy it!”

Papyrus voice sounded like his usual energetic and cheerful self, maybe even a little overjoyed for the situation, but Sans knew his brother was holding something in. The blatant contrast with the anxiety attack he had witnessed when holding his soul down last night, was proof enough. It wasn’t something a short powernap could fix.

“You know you don’t have to do this Pap… I can just go grab something at Gri...”

“NO CAN DO! All that grease is not healthy for you Brother!”

Still with his back towards Sans, Papyrus straightened himself up and waved a bony finger up in the air.

“Cooking noodles is a part of my daily routine! And I must warm up for later, I will impress Undyne big time today!”

Papyrus was trying to put up a strong bravado act. As painful as it was, Sans was better to roll with it, his brother would never let him help… he would never willingly let him see his feelings. Guess they were similar in that sense, not that this fact made him feel any better about himself. Sans took a few steps towards the kitchen table and pulled a chair out.

“Don’t you mean… a part of your daily rotini?”

“UGHH! I won’t give any attention to your lazy attempts at jokes!”

Sans sat down sideways, his right elbow on the table and his hand supporting his head. He reflexively winked and smiled faintly.

“But you are, by replying… you know, right?”

The only response that Sans got was the repetitive sound of a bony heel tapping on the floor. He smiled to himself genuinely, cherishing this moment. To Sans their daily nagging exchanges was something precious, something worth protecting, a heartwarming proof of their brotherly bond.

He continued with a more serious tone.

“Why do you want to impress Undyne so much more today than usual, Bro?”

For a moment, Papyrus stopped stirring and seemed to be holding his own arm, Sans remembered seeing him do something similar last night when he was healing his skull. The image of Papyrus’s crack covered skull between his hands flashed in his mind and made his stomach turn. He shook his head, chasing the memory away, not the time nor the place to think of this now.

“Because… She will have no choice but to accept me into the Royal Guards when she see’s just how dedicated and great I am! Nyeh heh heh!”

Papyrus had turned on his heels and was doing his signature laugh with his hand resting on his hip. Seeing him strike that pose out of his battle body did look significantly less heroic. Papyrus was wearing a long-sleeved crimson shirt covered by a plain apron that had been improved in his Bro’s usual fashion sense, by writing ‘Unparalleled Spaghettore’ on it. Sans winked and shrugged at him.

“Gotta admit Pap, this doesn’t quite capture your greatness in the same way!”

Sans tilted his head sideways, put on an awkward smile and rubbed his hand behind his head. He needed to see how his brother reacted if he tried bringing up last night’s incident.

“But yeah… Um, sorry about your shirt… He-he, turns out I got some grease and ketchup on it last night. I cleaned it for you though, but it’s still drying in the washroom.”

Sans talked using a cheerful tone, laughing lightly as he made it sound like a silly accident. This was the best way he had to try and smooth the subject into the discussion without pressuring his brother. He glanced at his brother with one eye, attentive to his every reaction.

Papyrus looked to the floor beside him and Sans could see his left hand was slowly reaching for his forearm, but Papyrus steadied himself at the last second and lifted his gaze up to meet Sans’s. There was a hint of pain, but his eyes were serious.

“It’s ok…”

He turned around on himself again, keeping busy with his pots and pans. An awkward silence reminding Sans of the emotional wall that separated them.

“Thanks…. I… I also returned your hoodie, so we’re all good…”

His voice sounded unsteady and didn’t match his energetic and ample movements. Papyrus stretched his right arm to grab a plate in the cupboard, then in a continued and precise motion, emptied the content of the pot into the plate. He put the empty pot down to his left and raised his hands with open palms in front of him.

“Ahh! Perfectly done as expected! Nyeh heh heh!

Papyrus took the plate and turned around once more, proudly displaying his creation. He set the plate on the table before Sans, it almost looked edible this time. Sans could see the presence of small droplets in the corners of his brother’s eye sockets. He felt it would be better if he just shrugged it off as a lame joke, than to make his brother confront this now. Papyrus had been though enough yesterday. Sans didn’t want to see him breaking down again. Sans knew he would probably follow suit himself if it came to that and he wanted to avoid that at all cost. It was always safer to provide his brother with an escape route.

“I see your creation has moved you to tears!”

Papyrus reached for his eyes with his free hand with a surprised expression.

“N-No… It’s the onions! I tell you… they always aim for the eyes.”

“They sure do, bro. They sure do.”

Papyrus turned towards the sink, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve in an exaggerated motion. He then proceeded to remove his apron and hung it on the wall beside the sink. He immediately turned to wash the pots in the sink in silence while they were still warm.

The silence lingered on for a while.

Sans was poking at the steamy noodly monstrosity in front of him. While his brother was drying and putting away the pots and pans that he had finished cleaning.

Papyrus seemed to be fidgeting, his head and hands still inside the cupboard. It was clear to Sans that his brother felt awkward about the whole situation. Sans pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, he had an idea that was sure to put Papyrus in a better mood. 

“Hey Paps, how about we go watch some MTT this morning?”

Papyrus stopped moving and after a couple of second suddenly stood up, almost hitting his head on a shelf and turned to face Sans, eyes wide open and beaming. He rested his right hand on his hip and extended his left arm swiftly, finger dead locked onto Sans. Sans knew an impending declaration was on its way, he was glad his idea worked.

“Good idea! Mettaton is very, very great! You should really do that!”

“Sounds goo… Wait… What???”

Papyrus closed his eyes, brought his left fist to his mouth, and cleared his throat.

“While I, on the other hand, will go work on all the important and overdue duties that my great and amazing self need to tend to! Nyeh heh!”

Sans’s smile dropped and he was left mouth agape, quizzical look on his face, while his brother just swiftly stridden right beside him. Papyrus was in absolutely no condition to just wander off to who knows where and just do who knows what and just come back home all broken bones again. If he even would come back at all. No, he didn’t want to go through this anymore. Sans furrowed his brow and turned around as fast as he could extending his arm towards Papyrus in an attempt to grab his fleeing brother, only narrowly missing him. Damn those ridiculously long legs!

“WHOA! Whoa bro! You’re- you’re just leaving like THAT!?! Where are you going? What is so important? Can’t you just take a day off…? Rest for once… just… YOU KNOW you’re in no condition to…….”

Sans stopped himself, putting a hand up to his mouth, realizing he had slipped up, his brother was now standing still in the kitchen doorway. He was frozen in place, shoulders slumped, his face completely hidden from sight. He could only see his back, but he knew that his words had just visibly added more weight onto Papyrus’s soul.

“No… you should be the one resting today Sans... I… I’ll… I’ll be home later, I promise… okay.”

Papyrus stood in the kitchen doorway, laying his left forearm on it seemingly to support himself. He didn’t move for what seemed to Sans like an eternity. Sans looked down and closed his eyes angry at himself, but when he reopened his eyes and looked back at the doorway, his brother was not there anymore. He ran to their house’s front door and could see his brother further away walking though Snowdin head hung low, avoiding looking at everyone else. This wasn’t like Papyrus at all.

Sans’s head dropped and his eyes were dimly lit as his brother disappeared further away. Papyrus was slipping away again, why did he always just let him go like this without putting up any decent resistance? Had he not an ounce of courage? Would he just give up on him too?

“Of course, you would run away… I can’t even take care of my own mess of a self…”

Sans slowly dragged himself back to the kitchen, his eyes locking onto the spaghetti monster sitting in his plate… his brother had taken some of his precious time to cook this for him, completely disregarding the state he was in himself. A painful reminder of how much of a better person Papyrus was compared to him. He sat down in front of the cosmic horror and stared at it.

“Just where do you find the energy to do all that?”

He pushed what he figured to be a meatball around the plate with his finger. 

“You didn’t even call me out on my laziness today… Heck, you even WANTED me to do nothing!”

He let his chin rest on the table with a long sigh, still staring at the nightmarish plate.

“Ahhhh…… bummer…”

A small smile crept on his face.

“Its gonna be another tiring day, heh buddy?”

The plate remained silent and lifeless.

Sans chuckled to himself and snatched a handful bringing it to his mouth, it tasted of bittersweet brotherly love.

“Sorry to disappoint you yet again, Paps… but I won’t be lazing out today.”

He took a few more bites, with determination in his gaze.

“If he won’t help himself either, then I’ll will have to try figuring something out for him.”

He stood up and vanished to one of his shortcuts in a flash, surrounded by tongues of his magical blue flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As expected longer delays... gotta blame the company email migration for this one. Many many hours of sleep lost.
> 
> Still happy I was able to put this out :)
> 
> Hope some find a little enjoyment in it!


	7. S2P4 - Mingling Perspectives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am attempting something different for this chapter, the various events of the day will be divided between a few characters, hope it turns out readable and makes enough sense, might adopt that approach for some of the following chapters. =^_^=

Sans arrived at his Waterfall station earlier than usual, his first task being quite the same as Papyrus’s daily objective; making a good impression on his boss, Undyne.

Papyrus was so adamant about him joining the sentries, insisting so much, that Sans just gave up and applied for the job. It seemed less of an effort to just comply than to always come up with justifications against it. In the end, if it made Pap any happier, then he’d do it; Half-assed, sure, but he’d do it. He always did the bare minimum to remain in anyway, after all, he had other responsibilities and duties of his own. Keeping the occasional eye socket out for his bro, just happened to be one of them.

If Sans wanted Undyne’s cooperation, he knew he’d have to offer something in exchange, his time. Sans knew his value laid upon fact that he maned multiple stations throughout the underground, hardly affected by the biting coldness of Snowdin or by the unrelenting heat waves of Hotland. And all that was without mentioning his shortcuts, no monster could travel to a location faster than he did… at least when he’d set his mind to the task.

Aside from the occasional scuffle between monsters for trivial matters, being a sentry was just not for him, it was all so pointless. It was tiring just standing still and waiting for something to happen, especially when he knew the futility of it all. Sans had to admit though that the title itself did come with a few advantages and it provided him the opportunity to talk to and prank people across the underground, while also getting paid for it.

It was a win-win situation to say the least, providing a decent income to allow him to pay the rent as well as sustain his other, unhealthy habits… Sans let out a tired sigh through his nasal bone and pulled out a small ketchup bottle from his pockets, that would have to hit the spot until his next break.

Time to get things in motion, he took out his phone and selected Alphys’s number, it was always easier sending text messages with her. She preferred it that way, less pressure on her.

_* Hey, Alphys, you busy?_

_* Oh, Sans! Umm, Hi!_

_* Got some unusual readings this m-morning…_

_* Like a huge dr-drop in the core energy… um output…_

_* And, um… they are getting quite… agitated…_

_* so, Yeah… busy… but, s-still no breakthrough…_

_* I-I am really running out of ideas…_

How could someone so introverted and shy manage to type so much, so fast? She was always anxious and second guessing herself, he had to try to calm her down a bit.

_* Don’t let it get to you Alphys, those things happen, takes time..._

_* Yeah… you-you’re right._

_* Think you could, um…_

_* Look into the new data… that I collected?_

_* Yeah sure, anytime._

_* So-sorry, got carried away again…_

_* So, um… did you need anything?_

_* I mean… like help or something…?_

_* Yeah, I’ll need your help with something… Mind if I drop by later?_

_* OMG! I knew it!_

_* Did something happen?_

_* Is everything alright?_

_* Whoa relax! It’s nothing. Just need to check something on your cameras, nothing serious._

_* Oh… well, you are always w-welcome here._

_* But I might be out today… have some important reports to present to Asgore._

_* Don’t sweat it Alphys. I’ll drop by later and bring the usual._

_* You concentrate on your report, okay?_

_* Just do your thing and leave the rest in the lab to me._

_* Ahh…. W-well…_

_* …_

_* I’ve got you covered, remember?_

_* … thank you so much… Sans._

_* For everything._

_* Don’t mention it. Be seeing ya._

_* Later!_

He closed his phone and slipped it back into his rear pocket. Sans made himself a mental note that Alphys had to report to Asgore and would take the occasion to peer into her vast network of cameras on his own… They were secretly colleagues, but he still preferred it if Alphys didn’t know too much about his activities. Sure, he assisted her, and she helped him every now and then, but it was mostly out of necessity. Scientists were quite the ‘rare’ thing underground, making mutual understanding and respect of one’s privacy a standard for the job. She was devouring herself with guilt and anxiety, and he... well, he had his own problems.

He yawned and rubbed a hand down on his face, Undyne should probably appear anytime now. He stood straighter and stretched his arms in the air behind his head.

“Better look sharp now!”

He could hear the distant stomping of Undyne further down the tunnel growing louder and clearer. At least it was easy to hear her approaching with all the noise bouncing off the tunnel walls in Waterfall. She was quite the terrifying sight, cladded in her heavy armor, magical spear in hand, blazing crimson hair flowing behind her with every step, no wonder she earned command of the entirety of the Royal Guard. The job suited her perfectly.

“Well… Hotland must be freezing over for YOU to be here this early!”

She stopped near Sans's station, feet firmly planted in the ground and swung her spear over her shoulders. Sans could see her single glowing eye looking down on him through her helmet.

“It does seem a bit fishy, I admit.”

She made her magical spear vanish and got closer to his station.

“Tch! Spare me your jokes, guess I’ll have to thank Paps for whipping your ass in gear!”

He winked and shrugged. Putting on a cocky smile.

“I’d hold off a little on that ‘thanks’ if I were you.”

Her head tilted to the side and she removed her helmet, teeth showing through a mocking grin. Sans knew he was testing her patience.

“Ohh? What’s this now, tryin’ to weasel your way outta this!?!”

He could hear the hinges on her metallic gauntlet creak a little as her fist was clenching, she did not look in a good mood today, he started sweating a little and brought up his hands in the air.

“Hey, hey… believe me, I don’t have any bone to pick here… Fact is, I need your help with something regarding Papyrus.”

Her stance shifted a little and some tension in her arms left her at the mention of his brother. She gave him a perplexed look for a second before putting back a more serious face, slightly frowning. She slammed her helmet on his sentry post and put out her hands on the counter, leaning in, looming over him.

“What’s this about Paps? Speak up. Now!”

Sans put his arms back down slightly relieved, he had at least defused her anger a little, he knew Undyne really cared about his brother in her own way. An unlike him, Undyne could get still to him in ways that he couldn’t anymore, the thought of it sent a twinge through his soul.

“Something’s not right, he’s not acting is usual self.”

He paused thinking of exactly what he wanted to reveal to her, as she was quite ‘fiery’ sometimes.

“Everyone knows he isn’t ‘normal’, what’s got you looking so serious today? Spill it already!”

“He came back home… badly wounded last night… would he have mentioned anything to you, about where he might have gone?”

She grabbed his shirt with her right hand and pulled Sans closer to her face, she was furious.

“Wait, WHAT? Wounded! Tell me WHO did this to him? I’ll SKEWER them to death a thousand times over!!!”

Sans grabbed her right hand and glared right back at her.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, we’re on the same team here. Let me go, Boss.”

She sustained her glare a couple of seconds and sighed, closing her eye, and releasing her grip on his shirt. She looked down on the counter, concern visible in her face, her eye slowly sweeping from left to right. She crossed her arms to her chest, her tone was lower, softer.

“Okay, I’m listening…”

“Paps told me he fell somewhere, hit his head pretty hard. It was quite bad; he was speaking nonsense, like if he couldn’t even hear me at all.”

Undyne bit her lip and looked away.

“Shit… go on.”

“Had cracks all over his skull, I managed to heal it, somehow…”

Sans was looking down, he didn’t notice his hands were shaking, the vision of the cracks and the dust covering his brother’s skull was creeping back, his breathing was ragged, his eye sockets devoid of any light. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, making the vision dissipate from his mind. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to continue.

“He even told me that I should sleep and take the day off today… Ahh, would you even believe that!?!”

He looked up at her forcing a smile. Her eye had a strange warmth he had never seen before and she had a wistful smile, her hand still on his shoulder with a light grip.

“Yeah… that sounds like the Paps I know.”

She let go of his shoulder and rubbed at the scruff of her neck, looking to the side.

“He did act pretty weird at our last training too, now that I think about it…”

Sans remembered all too vividly his brother’s lump on his head. He frowned a little.

“Yeah, maybe you wanna turn it down a notch with the ‘ultimate attacks’? Now he’s dead set into trying to impress you big time today.”

Her expression changed to one of surprise and she blushed a little.

“Huh? Why in hell would he want to impress me?”

Sans slammed his hands on his station, he didn’t have time for this now.

“Oh really! No idea!?! Maybe ‘cause he wants ‘IN’ the Royal Guard!”

Her face was obscured, arms crossing in front of her.

“Watch your tone sentry… YOU of ALL people should know very well why I CAN’T let that happen…”

“At least throw him a bone or something… he listens to YOU!”

“Tch! Easy for YOU to say! I’m already compromising enough, and you know it! What are you ev…”

A loud ring came from within Undyne’s armor, she reached under it and pulled out her phone. She looked at the screen and bit her lip, her expression growing darker.

“Crap, gotta haul, got a conflict near Tem Village.”

Undyne grabbed her helmet and slammed it back on her head, summoning a magical spear in her hand with a whip of her wrist and dashed away deeper into Waterfall.

Sans dropped to his elbows on his sentry post, well that went nowhere and had been quite the waste of his time… guess he should’ve known better. He let a sigh escape him from his nasal bone, Undyne was out of the question, but he still had other options up his sleeves.

Then he heard Undyne’s voice echoing on the walls from further in the tunnel.

“I’ll figure something out Sans, you can count on me! NGAHHHHHH!”

Sans lift his head blinking repeatedly, suddenly, he wasn’t so sure his idea would be for the best.

~~~

Never had Papyrus regretted the decision of painting over the rock formation just outside of Snowdin village more than today. His Gauntlet of Deadly Terror was aptly named alright. It was completely ironic, the puzzle was absolutely safe, he knew it, but that unreasonable fear kept on creeping up from deep within his very soul, making his head spin, turning his stomach on itself, draining any strength from his legs.

“No, no no…. what am I supposed to do….?”

He had to cross that bridge, just had to go to his puzzles, he needed to keep himself busy until he could meet with Flowey. The weight of the small key in his pocket ever increasing in his mind, with every passing second he could think about it. He was pacing back and forth in the snow just before the fake bridge, he couldn’t carry this thing with him, it was too much to bear. If only he could get his hands inside his puzzles, he would be able to mentally escape for long enough, he just knew that would work, his soul always felt at ease when he was calibrating.

He stopped and looked over to the other side of the bridge, realizing he hadn’t touched his puzzles for two days. He still had to get his pouch of tools back, Sans would surely notice something if he kept this up. He shook his head and slapped his cheekbones trying desperately to come up with a solution and fast!

“Yowie!”

He shut his eyes at the stinging pain and rubbed at his cheeks, they were still quite painful to the touch. But at least it did bring an idea to mind. He walked closer to the fake bridge’s ropes, as close as he was comfortable with.

“You can do this Papyrus, you can do this!”

He shut his eye sockets tightly, his breathing was ragged, he extended his shaking hands towards the rope, grabbing it and clenching at it way harder than he needed to. So far so good.

“Big bone, big bones… it’s not real, you won’t fall…”

He gulped and took a step forward, wobbly, unsteady, but he managed to stay in control over his mind. Closing his eyes was a brilliant idea! He smiled proudly to himself, now he could just concentrate on everything else and it was manageable. Not seeing the ground further below really helped him, he could do this now. He took another step, the sound of the snow crunching below his feet made him flinch.

“No… please, no…”

That dreadful sound was still all too familiar, he felt a shiver go up his spine. He stood still shaking afraid to take another step and confirm what he feared…

But he couldn’t just stand there all day, he had to move, he couldn’t be seen in this pathetic state. He lifted his foot and inched further, hesitant. The sound of his feet resting on the snowy ground matched perfectly, his brain distorting it, amplifying it. He could hear himself being devoured by the snowy abyss a clear vision of the event forming in his mind. He shot his eyes open, unable to go through this vision again, only to see the painted drop on the ground beside him. He jumped back by reflex, falling on his back, sweating buckets and out of breath. He was back at square one.

He brought his right hand over his soul instinctively, he was quivering. He couldn’t be seen this way, he was the Great Papyrus, he couldn’t be scared like that. He grabbed at his right forearm with his left hand and clenched hard, he had to quell that quivering at all costs.

_*Papyrus… the baby bones who fears his own puzzle…*_

He shook his head, chasing the unpleasant thoughts whispering in the back of his mind and stood back up, his gaze locked on the other side.

He just couldn’t cross it, he didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was terrified… he needed to find something to work on before his thoughts would start spinning out of control again. He turned on his heels and headed towards Waterfall with long and determined strides.

\---

He never really thought about it before today, but the underground sure did have its fair share of bottomless pits. He was able to at least confirm that he was still fine with waking on bridges that crossed over water. But the hardest part was crossing Undyne’s only puzzle, the large waterfall with falling boulders. He’d have to give her some extra praise on that one for sure. Papyrus made sure to remain a safe distance away from any edges and after some time walking alongside the inner tunnel wall he started feeling more at ease and figured he’d be fine. At least the ground in Waterfall was solid and wouldn’t cave in under him.

He walked all the way to Undyne’s village and decided to head south to the garbage dump, he knew he could find something there to keep him busy until their afternoon training. Maybe he could even find some new parts he could use for some new puzzles, the simple though of such a discovery, bringing some of his usual cheerfulness back to him.

The garbage dump always had pleasant surprises in store for Papyrus, wiring, electronics, broken toys, all sorts of things washed up here from the surface, it was like going on a treasure hunt. He started digging from one garbage pile to the next completely absorbed in his quest for a unique component, something new, something audacious and mysterious.

He had caught glimpse of something metallic in one of the mounds of trash, he started working his way to it, removing all sort of oddities obstructing the container. It was medium sized metal box, the hinges to its lid covered with rust, he tried pulling on it, it wouldn’t budge. He lifted it up and tilted it from side to side gently, there seemed to be something moving inside. He put the container back down and stared at it, deep in thought.

Another puzzle for him to resolve, Nyeh!

He really wanted to know what was hidden inside it!

If only he could just open it…

See what’s ins…

His mind froze and he stopped in his tracks, a weight suddenly pulling at his soul…

His left hand reached for his pocket.

He grabbed Sans’s key and took it out, looking at it with attention for the first time since he obtained it…

“…”

He felt awful.

He had stolen something from his brother… that fact alone hurting him more than the spiraling thoughts growing in the back of his mind. He sat down in the garbage pile beside a broken TV screen and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs.

“Sans… why won’t you share your pain with me…? I just want to understand you… why are you hurting so much… why won’t you even ask for my help…”

His head dropped between his knees, a mix of frustration and sadness washing over him.

“How long… have you been feeling like this…?”

“…Brother…. Am I… am I, not good enough….?”

His head was pounding, a constant thud, unrelenting, drowning any other noise around him.

“I… am not enough…”

He extended his arm and dropped the key in the broken TV monitor, he couldn’t carry its weigh anymore, it was too much for now.

Papyrus sat there curled up in a ball, silent.

Minutes felt like hours.

Then, his phone rang.

He jolted up and quickly grabbed his phone, answering before the second ring could even finish.

“Hello! This is Papyrus! You may speak after the sexy Nyeh!”

He was surprised to find himself smiling, receiving a call or a notification never failed to make him feel better, anything to take his mind away from his current anguish.

“Hey Paps! Just finished up here, wanna meet up for training?”

He stood up straighter trying to look cool, then he realized Undyne couldn’t see him and he blushed a little, feeling silly.

“Sure do! I’m already here in Waterfall!”

“Really? Okay then! Just gotta grab a few things and go at my place, meet me there. Got some special training in store for ya!”

“Really!?! Wowie!”

“Cya soon Pap!”

She hung up. Papyrus stared at his phone, barely able to contain his excitement. He was really looking forward to that special training, he would give it is all and impress his mentor!

He headed out of the garbage dump with some lightness in his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The perpetual feeling of writing yourself in a corner is akin to doing a manhunt with your own brain… I find it’s quite the interesting puzzle to tackle…
> 
> Hope I can outwit myself and continue escaping long enough!
> 
> ~ Really just glad I was able to get this out before end of year ~


	8. S3U1P5 - Something lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter with multiple PoV’s, hoping it came out decent and makes enough sense. It got a little longer than usual so I feel I had to end it where it did... -.-'  
>   
> Happy New Year a little late!

Sans finished packing up the leftovers from his hot-dog stand in Hotland into a wooden crate. When no one else was around, he took hold of the crate with his blue magic and transported himself along with the crate just outside of Alphys’s lab. He walked casually toward the automatic door, the crate floating behind him as he entered in the lab.

“Hey Alphys! You there?”

No answer, as expected, Alphys was surely presenting her report to king Asgore. Sans moved the crate to the elevator and made his way towards her office. As he approached the monitoring console, he could see the report Alphys had mentioned to him earlier today, he opened it, glancing quickly with disinterest at the data summary and a few graphs before closing it, he just couldn’t get his mind to the task.

“Sorry Alphys… but my Brother comes first today…”

He pushed the report to the side and started to interact with the console. He logged on to the archivers and browsed to Snowdin's camera feeds. He split the main monitor with four different cameras and started quickly skipping through them, trying to locate his Brother in one of them. He was focused, brow furrowed, his left hand in front of his mouth and rubbing from his cheekbone to his jaw.

“Come on Bro… where were you...?”

He was desperately trying to find anything that would help him to understand what really happened, he was sure that Papyrus didn’t lie about falling somewhere… but something was still off, he was missing something… something he felt was very important and he couldn’t explain. He needed a clue, anything to help him find some answers.

Sans was looking at this morning’s recordings on the archivers and saw how his brother attempted to cross his painted bridge. It pained him to see Papyrus in such a state, his reactions confirming to Sans that his brother fell down a cliff somewhere. Knowing it really was an accident, helped Sans calm down a little, Papyrus did mention falling during a blizzard.

Maybe he just lost his footing because he couldn’t see well?

Or he just walked too close to a ledge and slipped?

Or maybe the wind caught in his scarf and he just…

Sans ran a hand down his face.

Maybe he was overthinking and worrying too much over this...

He paused the recordings, taking a step back, pulling out his ketchup bottle and taking a swig at it.

He put the bottle away releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Sans still wanted to know where it happened, he needed to look back further on the recordings.

Continuing his search, Sans was able to locate Papyrus on one of the cameras that was hidden in a tree, although it was from far away, he could see Papyrus, in his battle body approaching one of his puzzles. He looked at him crouch beside something for a while and then just darting off at full speed into the woods outside the camera’s field of view. Sans took a mental note of the location and continued skipping a little more, finding nothing else of note. He closed the different camera feeds, logging off of the console.

“At least I know where to start looking now.”

Sans was curious about what Papyrus was looking at before darting away. Why did he leave that way? Why in such a hurry? There was only one way to find out.

He chuckled to himself.

“Jeez Paps, working me to the bone even when you aren’t around... you’d be proud of your Bro.”

Sans wrote a quick note to Alphys and attached it to the food crate before leaving for his station in Snowdin. 

\---

Sans slowly made his way towards the puzzle, resisting the urge to mess with Doggo when passing by his station. He couldn’t help but notice that his brother’s puzzles were covered in snow, which was unusual for Papyrus. He always took time to clear them of any accumulated snow, he liked them clean and ready to be solved.

He came across Dogamy and Dogaressa, who were on guard duty, he gave Dogamy a quick pat and threw Dogaressa a bone, keeping their interaction short, he was almost there and was starting to get hungry. He was really looking forward to visiting Grillby’s after this.

Sans finally arrived where he saw his brother on the camera feed. He walked closer to where he saw Papyrus crouching, where he could see a lump in the snow. Sans squatted down, hand sweeping the snow away only to discover his brother’s pouch of tools. He looked at the pouch and then further away in the direction he saw Papyrus run to in the recording.

“And… there goes my hope to find any easy answers.”

He stood back up, hand rubbing behind his neck, looking at the forest’s edge.

“What would make you leave your tools behind in such a hurry…?”

He looked back at the pouch, it was still open, he couldn’t say though if any tools were missing…

“What would make you stop working on your puzzles in the first place…?”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and tilted his head backwards, sighing loudly.

“The tools were already buried under the snow before you even arrived, so they were already there before yesterday…”

He ran a hand down his face, this was proving to be more tiring than he thought it would be initially. He processed all the information he currently had, unsure which trail to follow first. Try to track where he ran off to in the forest or try to find exactly when or why Papyrus left the pouch of tools behind in the first place?

He took his bottle out, lifting it up to his mouth. It was empty.

His stomach was growling, he looked at the pouch of tools, considering the easy way out.

*You should be the one resting today Sans… I’ll be home later, I promise…*

Even if some finer details escaped him, he knew for sure it was an accident. He could just try asking again later, when Papyrus would be back from his training.

Sans was beginning to wonder what Undyne would come up with for their training session, he knew she cared for Papyrus and their friendship really made his Bro happier. He felt bad for lashing out at her during their discussion this morning.

*I’ll figure something out Sans, you can count on me!*

“She always did good by him… I’ll have to trust her judgment on that one.”

Sans picked up the pouch of tools and flung it over his shoulder, looking to the forest’s edge and then to the road towards Snowdin behind him. He felt shameful.

“Grillby is probably wondering where I’ve been since this morning, everyone’s gonna make a scene about my prolonged absence.”

He looked to his feet, eye sockets devoid of any light.

“I’ll be waiting for you at home… like you promised, Bro.”

Sans lift his head back up, face plastered with his usual smile and took the shortcut, a greasy heaviness weighting at his soul.

*You gave up again… You trash.*

~~~

Undyne was hurrying up, she wanted to have everything ready before Papyrus arrived. Whatever Sans told her had to be serious, for Sans to be on time at his station and to openly seek her help. She couldn’t deny what he said got her worried, his words staying on her mind throughout the whole day.

She might have gone a little overboard when she threw that boulder at Aaron or when she threw that barrage of spears to disperse the onlookers away near Temmie village. She was always quick to snap back at others, but she had to admit she was a little more on edge today. She never saw Sans act that way before. Sure, he had always been somewhat protective of his brother, but this morning was something else, it was genuine fear... How was she even supposed to know what to do? Why was he pushing this on her?

*At least throw him a bone or something… he listens to YOU!*

“Tch… why does he listen though…”

She took a glance at her heavy armor resting beside the door, exhausted, the day had been all but relaxing. She closed her eye and sighed, chin tucked to her chest, hands resting on her kitchen counter.

*I’ll make everyone’s wishes come true.*

*I won’t let them down.*

*People rely on me.*

*I have to protect them.*

The kettle was whistling loudly, snapping Undyne out of her thoughts.

She took a few deep breaths and resumed packing her supplies. Dropping the fresh herbs from Gerson’s personal stash into the thermos, adding the water and sealing the container shut. She wasn’t sure how to bring this up to the energetic powerhouse Papyrus, but if Sans was accurate about the level of damage Papyrus had sustained, he would desperately need to relax, and so did she.

She attached the strap to the container and wore it across her shoulders. She moved towards her front door and opened it, surprised to find a grinning and enthusiast Papyrus standing in front of her. She felt extra aware of his presence, he had caught her off guard.

“Hi, Papyrus!”

“Hello Undyne, I am ready for today’s special training! What are we smashing today?”

“Hey Paps, yeah… about that...”

She couldn’t keep herself from staring at his head, it felt awkward. She couldn’t see anything from where she stood except that his eyes looked tired although his demeanor remained as energetic as usual.

“We have to go somewhere first okay, just follow me.”

Papyrus nodded and started following her.

She walked in front of him, uncomfortable, while he followed blindly, enthusiasm radiating from him every time she could glance at him after jumping across puddles or going through marshes. How would she make this work? This was way too weird for her, this silence was killing her.

“Paps. Can’t help but notice… where’s your battle body?

They continued walking, wooden planks creaking under their boots.

“I… left it home… but I assure you, it won’t affect my power output Undyne, trust me!”

She bit her lower lip, continuing at the same pace.

“Don’t sweat it… you won’t need it for today’s special training.”

She stopped beside the waterfall, still unsure she wanted to go through with her idea. She turned to face Papyrus with a serious glare, he had a hint of fear in his eyes. She took a deep breath, determined.

“No. Turning. Back! Ngahhhh!!!”

She grabbed Papyrus and lifted him over her head, jumped into the water and headed upstream, disappearing behind the waterfall. Papyrus only had time to gasp and curl on himself before being dropped to the ground safely a few moments later in the dark room, looking confused and panicked.

“Ah, um… Undyne, is everything… alright?”

She walked around the room a little, nudging the nearby Glowshroom with her feet, lighting the room with a soft blue glow. She really would have preferred to keep this location to herself.

“Am… am I, in trouble?”

She lightly tapped the second mushroom with her boot and walked back in front of Papyrus who was now grabbing at his own arm. She sat down cross-legged a meter in front of him, letting out a loud sigh.

“No, you aren’t dummy… now sit down, this is serious.”

Papyrus looked uneasy, but complied and sat in front of her, was he scared of her? She was really bad at this, she knew it.

“No need to be afraid, take it easy okay? I won’t hurt you.”

“I am never afraid, sentries do not know fear.”

Why was everything meant to be simple, so complicated with him? She just wanted to use her green magic on him and force him to relax. How was she supposed to teach him how to meditate…? Why did she even remotely think it was a good idea. Grahhh… but after today’s events, she needed to relax as much as he did, it was worth the extra effort. She ran a hand across her face and tried smiling softly.

“Okay, Papyrus! Listen now, today’s um, training. Is all about the warrior’s meditation, that, um… strengthens the soul, or whatnot…”

She took a glance at him unsure if her wording had got to him, but surprisingly his eyes were dead locked onto her. She couldn’t help but remember what Sans had told her.

*He’s dead set onto trying to impress you big time today.*

Why did that lazy bone bag of a sentry have to come up to mind now, this was already hard enough as is. She removed the strap from her shoulder and brought the Thermos in front of her, was she sweating bullets?

“And this here is, um. My… super secret meditation concoction…”

She looked back at him and saw his eyes were shining, she felt bad for leading him on like that, but she knew that Papyrus didn’t know how to sleep or relax, it wasn’t natural to him. He was sitting cross-legged in front of her, fists on his knees, staring at her with the burning passion and dedication of an anime protagonist about to get a power-up training… agh, NO! She punched herself mentally, need to concentrate, don’t get fired up now, get a grip Undyne!

She had his undivided attention. She moved a little closer to him, opened the container, poured the hot liquid into the cap, filling it up and handed it over to her skeleton friend.

“Here Paps, that one’s for you.”

He took the steaming cup and inspected it carefully, bringing it closer to his chest with an expression of contentment. If Sans hadn’t told her about the cracks… she would never have noticed, but now that she was closer, she could see them. Papyrus had barely visible fine lines around his eye sockets that extended outwards… she felt guilt crawling onto her back, remembering how hard Papyrus had slammed his head on his kitchen counter. She looked down into the opening of the thermos, breathing in the medicinal aroma it released. She was in no way a good mentor.

“Papyrus… before we begin… I really want to know… wh- ”

She heard the ring of the hollow metallic cup as it was slammed on the rocky ground, she looked up and saw Papyrus’s eye sockets closed shut as he was shaking his head to the sides repeatedly.

“Blegh… sure tastes weird! Okay, I am ready for our training now, Undyne!”

She looked at the cup in front of him, then to his face, mouth agape, frozen in disbelief.

“Shit.”

“Um… Undyne?”

She quickly got to her knees and grabbed him by the shoulders, keeping him sitting, she took a quick glance at the cup. Empty… fuck. She locked her eye back onto his face, why did he down it all in one go? Guess she should have explained BEFORE handing it over to him… How would he react to it? It’s only meant for sipping lightly over a long period of time… She should have made him meditate or relax beforehand… when would it start kicking in? She noticed she was frowning and looked back at him again, correcting her expression as much as she could, she could see her actions were only making him tenser. She moved back a little, still holding his shoulders down.

“Papyrus listen to me very closely, don’t think about anything bad okay, just concentrate on breathing slowly.”

She tried smiling as much as she could, she was sweating bullets.

“D… Did… I do something wrong?”

Papyrus looked scared and confused, she could sense he was trying to free himself from her grasp, his eyes avoiding hers. She knew she screwed up big time.

“Listen to me! Calm down, stop wriggling around… don’t move! Just breathe and concentrate on my voice!”

“Please… Undyne… let me go.”

Papyrus was pushing himself away using his legs, his bony fingers wrapping around Undyne’s wrist with no real strength behind them, he was terrified… but she had to keep him from standing up for his own safety, she knew what was coming. She held him firmly with her left hand, releasing her right hand and letting it fall to her side.

“I’m sorry, Papyrus… I…”

Her face was obscured. His eyes trying to lock onto hers.

“U… Un… dyne…?”

She materialized a spear in her hand with a pained expression and swung it across his torso.

~~~

He couldn’t move… Why was she holding him down? Why had she made his soul green…? Was this all part of this special training? 

He was now laying down on his back, eyes darting around the room, he could see Undyne pacing around the room, she threw her spear violently towards the wall where it lodged itself deeply, her hands were clawing at her scalp and she looked like she was panicking. He was sure something went wrong, she wouldn’t attack him like that, he must have screwed up somewhere. It had to be his fault.

He tried moving again, he couldn’t budge, he could hear Undyne cussing to herself repeatedly further away.

There had to be something he could do, right?

He tried concentrating to create one of his magical bones, it formed right beside him, but it was all bent up and deformed and it vanished a few moments later. He felt drained, using magic had never felt that exhausting before.

He saw a blurry Undyne kneel over him her hands grabbing his sweater firmly, he was sure she was yelling but somehow, he couldn’t make out any of her words nor could he clearly see her expression, what was going on?

Shadows were growing in the corners of his vision, consuming the light in the room, steadily advancing towards them. Undyne was staring at him, she didn’t seem to notice them, he had to warn her about the shadows.

“Un-Undyne… careful, the shadows… they…”

And everything was gone.

Light, noises… even Undyne.

He was sure he also felt the ground move a little, or was that him moving? He wasn’t sure anymore.

He sat up, surprised he could now move, he extended his arms and pat all around him searching for Undyne. When he couldn’t find her, he tried calling her name.

Fear started to grip at him when he realized his voice had also left him. He started to claw frantically at his throat, trying again and again to speak.

The dreadful silence persisted.

He tried to build up his magic and form blue bones all around him trying to create some light.

Nothing happened…

He felt something, itching, from inside his skull.

Where was Undyne…?

Where was he?

He curled up, clinging desperately to the only thing he had left… himself.

There had to be something he could do…

…

He concentrated.

There had to be something… anything.

He concentrated harder.

He felt something in his soul, something he couldn’t describe something that was inside him… but also very far away, pulling at his soul.

He pulled his left hand to his skull the itching sensation growing stronger inside his skull.

He was sure there was something out there… in the darkness… and it felt like it was calling to him.

He tried shouting to whatever was out there with him to no avail… he still had no voice. He clawed at his throat in frustration.

If only he could see.

The itch grew even worse.

Why couldn’t he see...

He started clawing at his eye sockets.

He felt a mixture of pain and relief as he kept on scratching.

Why couldn’t he see?

He kept on clawing…

Why was it so dark…?

Fingers digging into bone, he started to curl on himself.

He felt so lonely…

The itch wouldn’t go away…

Why?

Something was calling him… calling his soul… pulling at him to get closer…

Why?

He was sure that thing was just further ahead… he just needed to extend his hand to reach it… to embrace it...

Who…?

He couldn’t understand…

…

…

Something weak resonated in his ear.

He lift his head up, he could hear something… it was weak and far away.

It rang again, clearer, stronger.

He got to his knees, trying to pinpoint where that sound came from.

He heard it once more, yet clearer.

A voice.

It came from behind him, he turned around slowly crawling towards it.

He knew that voice. Undyne!

He struggled to his feet, walking towards the sound of her voice.

She was humming something, a melody.

He started running, his eyes starting to clear up.

He wasn’t alone anymore...

He tried shouting again.

\---

“Un-Undyne!”

He sat up, hands grasping at his throat, catching his breath. He looked around, he was back in the cave behind the waterfall, he could see, hear, and had regained his voice. Undyne was sitting cross-legged in front of him a magical spear over her knees, her hands extended over it, fingers gently tapping on its shaft as she continued humming the same melody over and over.

He had heard it before... he couldn't say exactly where... but that melody... it had reached his soul... wherever he was... wherever that dark place was... he listened to the melody still somewhat in a trance at what had just happened.

“Undyne… what… is that song…?"

She put her hands on her spear looking to the ground with a pained expression.

“Papyrus…… I… I’m sorry…”

He tried to get himself to his knees still a little dizzy from his weird experience. He needed to do something to cheer her up, he had to.

“Undyne… I-“

Undyne raised a hand prompting him to stop. Her voice was unsteady, her face looking down and obscured.

“Paps. Don’t… please, just leave… I… need some time.”

He brought his arms to his rib cage, unsure what to do. He looked around, noticing a multitude of magical spears stabbed into the walls. How long was he in that weird place? What had happened to him? What had happened to Undyne?

“…o-okay…”

He slowly got up and left the room, pained and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta work on finalizing the second part of the chapter, maybe expect something soon, probably?


	9. F3P6 - Something found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sink or swim… I’ve made it to the first hurdle in this mess. But things kept on stretching out the more I tried going forward, like a corridor in a horror movie. Need to keep my synapses in check.

Flowey was extra cautious while he was stalking and monitoring Sans’s actions throughout the day. Every detail mattered when it was about that freak. he would eventually have to get to the bottom of why Sans specifically, could remember things through resets and what was the extent of what he remembered. Maybe that would be one of the things he would figure out after he gained access to that secret room of his, that couldn’t happen soon enough.

The more he knew about Sans’s action during the day, the easier it would be to keep him distracted and away during their investigation to find the key’s location.

\---

Flowey was surprised to see Sans on time at his Waterfall station and actually putting in some work, sending a tinge of unease through his roots, how could he ever forget all the pain that sick sack of bones had put him through on many of his experimental runs… Sans wasn’t one to be underestimated. As much as he enjoyed anything unusual and different, he knew he needed to keep Sans in check for his current plan to work.

Sans was worried about his dumb brother, as expected, even to the point of shouting aggressively at Undyne in a ridiculous plea for her help. He almost wished she snapped back at him, sadly no such thing happened. Witnessing all this useless sentimentality and their futile attempts to ‘help’ Papyrus made him want to laugh so badly he barely contained his laughter. If only they knew how deeply he had gotten into Papyrus’s mind. The damage was already done, and it would only grow worse.

Nothing in Sans’s exchange with Undyne seemed to hint that he believed someone was involved with his brother’s recent injuries, which was true in a sense. Flowey did not push Papyrus down, heck he even had to heal him up, the fools should be thanking him for this! Ironically, that idiot ran to his downfall of his own free will in every sense of the word.

Flowey would have to go find Papyrus soon enough, he was somewhat curious as to what Undyne would do after what she had been told. It might even prove to be an entertaining distraction. Flowey shook his head, as much as he hated it, he had to keep a close eye on…

“Damnit, where did he jump off to now?”

Flowey’s root were curling up and tangling in frustration. He could swear it was as if Sans knew, like he knew exactly when to disappear, knew exactly what to do to tick him off. He only took his eyes off Sans for a few seconds… everything with him was always painful and arduous.

He pulled himself underground pursuing his elusive prey.

\---

Gosh could Sans be hard to follow sometimes, but with enough time, Flowey had come to know where a few of his ‘shortcuts’ led him.

He kept on jumping from station to station to Flowey’s growing concern. Sans was putting way more effort behind his actions than he had anticipated, which might prove troublesome depending on his findings. Flowey would usually welcome any change in behavior, but with Sans he knew any mistake he would make would stick.

He looked at Sans entering the lab with a crate of food floating behind him, prompting him to remember how he had been able to escape from Alphys’s secret lab. Maybe he should be thanking that greasy bone bag… a wide toothy smile steadily covered his face. Yeah, he would thank him in his own way… in due time. His anger was slowly building up inside him.

“Oh, I will make it up to you…”

He looked at Sans disappearing behind the automatic door, he couldn’t risk following him there, not now, not while he had this urge swelling inside him.

“I will find out everything about your miserable pathetic self...”

His roots digging deeper into the ground, he could feel the radiating heat seeping in, slowly smoldering his roots.

“And turn it on itself, against you…”

The burning sensation filling him, that hatred and desire to just completely shatter him to dust. To wipe that arrogant smile off from existence. He would have to lash out at something, he knew it. He couldn’t keep all this bottled up much longer. He pulled back his roots to himself, focusing on regaining control.

“I heard it isn’t healthy to keep it all bottled up.”

He headed into one of the vents, crawling around, careful not to make any noise until he was finally able to see Sans, going through Alphys’s camera recordings. Useless, he wouldn’t find Flowey on any of these, he was wasting his time, Flowey rolled his eyes and there he went again, vanishing.

“Tch, I swear he does that on purpose!”

Flowey recalled seeing Sans look at cameras in Snowdin right before closing everything and decided to start pursuing him there.

\---

Flowey did start to worry that Sans might be onto something, when he had backtracked to the puzzle that he and Papyrus were and discovered his pouch of tools. This was an oversight on Flowey’s end, he had to admit that he had completely forgotten about it. Why didn’t Papyrus come back to retrieve it yet anyway? He bit his tongue and continued observing, this didn’t change anything, the game was still on.

Flowey felt tension going through him in waves as he stared at him. Sans knew something was up, that something had happened right there, he could see him putting together some pieces of evidence…

But his true nature came crawling back.

Flowey was delighted.

Ecstatic.

Sans had stopped in his streak of efforts, abandoning all his progress in favor of leniency, and just headed towards Grillby’s. By leaving as such, the major hindrance to his plan would simply wane into a bottomless bottle of food condiment. This was simply perfect, things were falling in place without much effort on his end, which left him with some pent-up energy he would surely need to vent out somewhere.

He perked up on his stem, wide smile covering his face, he knew exactly where he could release all that stress.

“Let’s see how my sweet little Papyrus is doing.”

\---

When approaching the town in Waterfall, he almost came across Papyrus and Undyne going west just outside of the village. It was unusual as they usually trained at Undyne’s place. He recalled hearing Undyne yelling at Sans that she would figure something out, and Flowey was quite curious as to what she had come up with for Papyrus’s ‘training’ session.

He followed them stealthily through the marshes and the echo flowers, wondering where she would bring him, she wasn’t even wearing her armor and just carried a thermos strapped behind her back.

He was quite disappointed to see Undyne bring Papyrus to her ‘secret’ meditation room, still curious at how Undyne would ‘babysit’ him this time. He was about to leave, when he heard Undyne cussing aloud relentlessly. Curious, he dug himself a little closer.

Flowey’s smile grew wider and distorted. Now this was quite new and most unexpected, he could… no, he WOULD use that.

She had underestimated the stupidity of her skeleton friend and would end up regretting it.

He observed this whole ‘meditation’ training, Papyrus was laying on his back screeching incomprehensible sounds, while Undyne who was clearly way in over her head, was senselessly throwing her spears in any direction she could think of… as if any of that helped.

Flowey had to admit it was helping his mood.

It was quite the magical light show to say the least, way more entertaining than what he had initially thought this meditation thing would turn out to be.

Eventually when her green magic started to fade, Papyrus’s hands started to twitch and move and eventually he began to claw frantically at his throat and then to his eye sockets. Undyne clearly couldn’t take this sight anymore and just sat down, her eye shut tight. She let out a terrifying long, low growl and she struggled to calm her breathing. She chugged at her thermos and then threw it aside with rage calling forth a magical spear across her knees.

What the hell was she even doing?

She just started gently tapping her fingers on the spear’s shaft, softly humming some stupid melody.

What would that even do?

Flowey noticed how Papyrus was slowly calming down, surely it couldn’t be something as pathetic as that. How anti-climatic.

“Tch… things are getting boring here, better wait outside.”

He waited a while, counting the many boulders that kept falling down the waterfall, wondering just how Undyne managed the feat. He had lost count when Papyrus made his way out looking quite spent. He made a mental note never to try and relax with Undyne.

Flowey observed Papyrus a while, making sure she wouldn’t follow him and decided, now was the time to engage in some pleasant exchange with his favorite simpleminded friend.

~~~

Papyrus was dragging his boots, still confused at what had just happened to him, his throat was sore, his eyes were burning… What had happened? Why were there so many spears in the walls? Did Undyne fight those shadowy things that surrounded them? Is that why she stayed behind? Maybe he should go back to help her…

He hesitated for an instant, recalling her tone asking him to leave… she didn’t even look at him.

“I sure didn’t impress anyone today…”

He could see the edge of Snowdin village in the distance, his garage, his house barely visible. He looked to his feet and jumped in surprise when he noticed the tiny golden flower between his boots.

“F-Flowey!”

“Howdy Papyrus!”

He tried to correct his posture and tried smiling as brightly as he could.

“Hey Flowey, didn’t see you there… you need to be careful. I don’t want to step on you and hurt you-“

“How did your training with Undyne go?”

His smile was gone, he tried hiding his discomfort by rubbing his hand on the back of his skull, unable to look his friend in the eyes.

“Well, I am not exactly sure, I-“

Flowey extended his stem further, leaning into Papyrus’s field of view, his eyes were staring at him, his brow furrowed a little. Papyrus was growing uneasy, he felt as if Flowey was looking into his very soul.

“Papyrus… did she hurt you?”

He stiffened up, hesitant…

“Wha-?”

He brought a hand to his torso instinctively, clearly remembering how she had swung her spear at his ribcage, making his soul green. He opened his mouth, his words barely coming out.

“I don’t believe, she mea-“

He was stopped in his train of thought, Flowey’s face was now at eye level and growing closer, his main leaves extending to Papyrus’s face like if he was being inspected. Flowey’s expression turned dark for a moment.

“Papyrus… you don’t have to lie to me… you can tell me everything. You know that, right?”

Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe… he didn’t lie… did he? He grabbed his right forearm and started to grip hard at it. What was this painful feeling growing in his chest? He opened and closed his mouth without a sound, he was starting to fear he had once again lost his voice. He could hear that thudding in his head steadily coming back. Flowey was bent on his stem and looked deep in thought.

“I saw them talking this morning… Sans asked Undyne to do something, something about your training session, but I couldn’t hear what… did Undyne do anything unusual during your training?”

“Sans…?”

He was getting dizzy again. His breathing was erratic.

“What…?”

What did Sans have to do in all this? He tried to look at Flowey, wishing he would speak, which he didn’t. The silence was gnawing at his mind.

“Um…”

His head was pulsating with pain… did Sans ask Undyne to…? He looked back to Flowey, he was staring right back at him, peering deep into his soul, still painfully silent.

“… No… she…”

He could see the shadows again and how Undyne looked in so much pain… he had no explanation. He glanced at Flowey unable to sustain his piercing gaze.

Still silent.

“She……”

He brought his shaking hands to the sides of his skull… his vision was shaking, he didn’t know what to answer, she would never hurt him… Sans would never ask anyone to hurt him… Undyne would never…

Still dead silent.

Why would Flowey say that?

None of that could be true… right?

His head kept pounding, a swirl of unanswered questions spinning out of control, he couldn’t make any sense out of anything… his fingers were digging hard into his skull.

Why wasn’t Flowey saying anything?

That itching feeling slowly coming back, growing stronger with every thud resonating in his skull.

Please say something…

It hurts.

Anything…

It hurts so much.

Please…

“…”

“… ple…”

“Please… MAKE IT STOP!!!”

His voice came out way louder than he intended to, but at least the itch was gone and the pounding in his head had calmed down. Flowey had thrown himself towards him, wrapping him in a snug embrace, vines rubbing at his back. He let himself be cradled by his friend, tension slowly drained from him.

“Hush hush now, it doesn’t matter, I am there for you Papyrus, remember this. I care for you, I really do.”

He felt a lump growing in his throat, he was tired, so tired, why was everything so complicated in his life lately?

“I don’t understand… what’s happening around me…?”

Flowey had stopped hugging him and gave him some space, keeping one of his vines to his back, supporting him.

“That’s what we are trying to figure out Papyrus. You remember right?”

He felt tears escape him, at least he had Flowey, at least he understood what he was going through. Papyrus felt he could make it with his help.

“Yeah…”

Flowey continued rubbing his back, remaining silent for a while.

“Hey Papyrus?”

Papyrus lifted his gaze to meet Flowey’s eyes, he was smiling softly at him.

“Did you figure out anything about that door, or perhaps the location of the key?”

“I…”

He felt a wave of shame wash over him, why did he keep on failing everyone he cared about? Why did he discard that key, what was he thinking? He frowned to himself, wiping the tears from his cheekbones with his sleeve, he had to at least prove to Flowey that he wasn’t a baby bone. He wouldn’t fail anymore today! He Looked to Flowey who was wiggling around and looking around with a bright smile. He had to at least impress his friend today, he could do this.

He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

“Flowey, I know where it is.”

Flowey’s head was tilted to the side, blinking, and smiling.

“I know it might take some time to find it bu-… Papyrus, wait. You WHAT?”

Flowey’s eyes and mouth were wide open, Papyrus smiled and struck a pose quite proud of himself.

“Nyeh heh heh! Yeah… I don’t have it with me now… but I know where the key is Flowey!”

Flowey pulled himself out of view underground, making Papyrus jump back in surprise.

“Flowey…!?!”

Flowey popped back out to the surface, grabbing Papyrus under his shoulders, swinging him around his stem with a wide smile.

“PAPYRUS!!! This is amazing news! I knew you could do it!”

Flowey put him back down to his feet, he felt a little scared when his feet had left the ground but was glad to hear his friend praise him, it just felt right. At least he had gotten one thing right today, he wanted to hold on to that fleeting feeling.

“I’ll make sure Sans is away, you go grab the key as soon as you can and meet me back here in about an hour okay?”

“O-okay Flowey, I can do that!”

And Flowey just disappeared again into the ground without a trace.

He stood there a while confused at the suddenness of it all, then started to backtrack into Waterfall towards the garbage dump.

\---

There he was, back again in the Garbage dump, mixed feelings about the whole situation. Shameful for lying to his friend about the fact that he previously had the key but discarded it, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that he was able to bring so much joy to Flowey by simply mentioning that he knew where the key was. He just had to find it quickly, he didn’t want to disappoint Flowey, he didn’t want to disappoint anyone else today.

He ventured further into the dump, spotting the broken TV monitor he had been sitting next to earlier today. He jogged lightly until he reached the pile of junk, he climbed on it and came face to face with the broken screen. He caught a glimpse of his reflection deformed and distorted, startling him and making him stumble to his feet.

He regained his footing and brought his face before the broken screen once more. He looked at his reflection on a large shard of glass, his smile waning away.

His face, his neck… his eye sockets… he was covered with deep scratches.

He brought his hand towards the monitor touching his reflection on a shard of glass.

“No, it can’t be real…”

He looked to his hands and back to his reflection, guiding a single finger along one of the many claw marks on his brow. He flinched upon laying a finger upon the fresh wound, they were very real. He lowered his arms in disbelief.

“I… did this… to myself?”

No he… would never do such a thing… he would never…

He looked down, a sudden spike of pain going through his right forearm. His fingers recoiled upon seeing them digging hard into his radius and his ulna.

“Why… am I doing this…?”

He suddenly felt his stomach turn and retched. He took a few deep breaths, using his arms to support himself on top of the broken monitor. Undyne… and Flowey… they had seen these marks… how could he face them now? How could he explain any of this?

*Did Undyne do anything unusual during your training?*

He remembered drinking that foul tasting liquid…

*Sans asked Undyne to do something…*

It didn’t make any sense… Sans was crying this morning, he cared about him… he was in so much pain.

*That’s what we are trying to figure out Papyrus.*

“Flowey!”

He straightened up and inserted his left arm inside the monitor, breaking a few of the remaining intact shards of glass in the process. His hand rummaged through the glass debris, ignoring the pain until he felt the metallic key and grasped it vigorously. He took it out and shoved it in his back pocket.

He knew exactly what to do to make it back as quickly as he could and avoid being noticed, he ran out of the garbage dump as fast as he could a hand covering his neck. He regretted not bringing a scarf with him, at least he could’ve hidden some of his scratches from view.

He turned the corner in a hurry, it was getting late.

“Please, you have to be there…”

He felt relieved noticing his hooded friend waiting motionless.

He ran up to their boat, catching his breath.

“He-Hello River Person...”

The hooded figured simply turned to face him calmly. Papyrus was grateful he couldn’t see their face or their expression.

“Tra la la. Care for a ride?”

Papyrus hoped on the boat trying to dig his head in his shoulders as much as he could, trying to find a somewhat natural posture that allowed him to hide his neck and jaw as much as he could, to very little success.

“Where will we go today?”

He tried to peek under the hoodie, unable to see anything more than the first time he did so. At least River Person did not seem to treat him any differently than usual, which made Papyrus feel a little more at ease. He wondered if they even had eyes?

“Snowdin, please.”

The cloaked figured turned his back to him and the boat started to move. Papyrus was just glad to know that he wouldn’t have to come across any other monster by travelling as such.

He continued rubbing at his neck, feeling each individual scratch burning under his touch. How could he do such a thing to himself? How would he explain that to anyone… To Sans?

He dropped his head between his hands, he had promised Sans he would come back home, but now he wasn’t so sure he even wanted to get back there yet.

“Tra la la. Don’t snoop behind people’s houses…”

Papyrus jolted his head up, unsure if he heard correctly. What did the river person just say?

He felt a shiver creep up his spine. Were they aware about Sans’s secret door too?

Who else knew?

“You might be mistaken for a trash-can.”

Papyrus’s mouth was left agape, they never spoke that way before… was it because he came back from the garbage dump and smelled bad? What exactly did they mean?

He remained speechless, almost falling forward when the boat stopped at Snowdin and hopping off without even thinking.

“Come again some time. Tra la la.” 

He looked at the hooded figure gently floating down the river, confused yet again as to what had just occurred.

He was sure he wasn’t a can, but he certainly did feel like trash.

~~~

Flowey kept watch over Sans while he had Papyrus sent to retrieve the key. He had to admit he wasn’t expecting the tall idiot to find the key so quickly though, it was all the better. He was starting to get annoyed playing nice and would’ve liked nothing more than to snap his little neck in two.

But seeing a broken Papyrus begging him to make it stop... Yes! That had been a key moment in his day, it filled Flowey with something raw, something pure that he couldn’t get enough of. He just had to make sure all the other supporting pillars to Papyrus mental wellbeing crumbled to nothingness. That would surely bring him to new heights!

“Heck this time he didn’t even try denying Sans would do such a thing.”

He let himself fall on his back, looking at the darkening ceiling.

He had it all set in place, he knew Papyrus would start to doubt them all soon, he just had to keep working it into him, poisoning his mind with lies, it wouldn’t fail.

He chuckled softly to himself, thinking about the next steps to his plan.

He heard footsteps approaching in the snow.

He lifted his head up, his grin growing wide, right on time!

He perked up, beckoning his skeletal friend to his position.

“Do you have it, Papyrus?”

Papyrus’s hand reached his back pocket and he simply nodded lightly.

“Good. Follow me.”

He guided Papyrus through the forest, careful not to make any unnecessary sound until they arrived at a good distance in the forest and facing the skeleton’s house. He hunkered down in the fluffy snow and invited Papyrus to do the same.

They could see light coming from the front Window of the house, Sans’s arms could be seen over the couch finger interlocked, he was watching tonight’s episode of Mettaton. He turned to Papyrus who was keeping his hand on his neck for some reason. He put a leaf on his hand snapping him back in the moment.

“Papyrus! We have to make sure Sans isn’t there, we can’t have him around when we discover what he’s been hiding can’t we?”

Papyrus flinched, he seemed conflicted, avoiding Flowey’s gaze, this was starting to annoy him, he needed to pull his shit together and quick. He saw him fidget and let him speak his mind.

“I promised Sans I’d return home tonight… asked him to rest at home today… it’s my fault he’s not at Grillby’s…”

Papyrus kept on staring at the Window, guilty expression covering his features.

Flowey couldn’t help but smile. His smile widening more and more.

How perfect, just perfect, if Sans was expecting his brother to come back home anytime now, his plan was now guaranteed to work, Flowey leaned in closer to Papyrus’s back, whispering to his ear.

“Ahh, don’t worry about that Papyrus, Sans will be leaving ~anytime~ now, just look VERY attentively.”

Papyrus crouched further in the snow, bringing one of his hands over his brow squinting.

“How can you be so sure he will leave?”

Flowey grinned to himself, teeth showing though an ever-widening smile.

*That’s why YOU are here my sweet Papyrus.*

He moved even closer, slowly bringing a few vines together, concentrating his magic in his main stem. Papyrus was staring at the living room window of his house, obedient. Flowey couldn’t contain himself anymore, his smile wide and distorted, his prey blissfully oblivious to his intentions. Flowey struggle to keep his voice in check.

“Don’t. Blink. Papyrus. Or you’ll miss it.”

He whipped his vines with all his strength to the precise but exposed cervical vertebra shattering it instantly. The lifeless skeletal head and body falling softly into the fluffy snow. He savored the moment, releasing most of his pent-up rage before reloading just before the oh so liberating action.

He swung his vine down, again.

And again.

After the third beheading, the elder brother stood from the living room couch with a concerned expression and vanished away. Successive reloads never failed to get Sans to move, it was even better that Papyrus promised he’d come back home. See where that ridiculous promise will get you! Everything went even better than expected. And now a worried Sans was sent out on a wild goose chase, giving them all the time, they need to accomplish their mission.

The younger brother stared quietly, his mouth opening and closing without a sound. He sat up straighter and brought his hand to his neck before turning to face Flowey a puzzled expression on his face.

“What… happened…?”

Flowey’s expression was back to a kind and caring smile. He brought a leaf over Papyrus’s shoulder petting it reassuringly.

“How… did you, know? … what’s this weird feeling…”

“Hush Papyrus, it doesn’t matter, don’t lose your head over on the details… We must focus now.”

Papyrus looked down in the snow frowning.

“But… I told him to rest… he needs to… he…”

“Just shows you how much he listens to you, Papyrus… truly makes me sad to no end…”

He paused voluntarily, observing his puppet with attention, Papyrus looked down, deep in thought still rubbing at his neck. Flowey perked up on his stem displaying a bright smile, trying to snap the skeleton to action, he had waited enough, and Papyrus still had a role to play.

“How about we go open that door now? I am sure everything will make sense when we do Papyrus, it has to!”

The tall skeleton dug in his pocket and pulled out a silver key, looking at it sadly for a moment. His hand closed on it after a moment and he brought himself to his feet wiping the snow off his pants and forcing a smile on his face.

“You are right Flowey, I have to do this. Sans needs my help! I… need to know.”

*Finally, about time you got hold of yourself.*

They both advanced towards the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am quite in a bind on what to do with tags starting this point… what is even good tagging…? I too find complexity in strange places…  
> Can’t I remain in a Schrödinger state a while longer?  
> Brain… Sometimes I hate you so much…


	10. F4P7 - Don't Forget

Flowey was finally there, objective in sight, unsure what to expect.

Papyrus was standing right in front of him, his hands slightly shaking, still somewhat fearful of what he would discover.

*Just open it already! We don’t have all night!*

“We have to do this Papyrus, we have to know… so we can understand and help Sans, remember?”

He could only hear Papyrus gulping, this idiot was way too slow, he would have to intervene yet again to get things moving.

Flowey slowly brought a vine around Papyrus’s wrist, gently pushing it forward, inserting the key all the way in, he was growing impatient, he couldn’t wait anymore. He needed to learn Sans’s secret. Now!

“Let me help you Papyrus.”

He carefully wrapped a tendril around his bony fingers, turning the key until a click was heard.

And, just like that, the door was now open.

Flowey rushed in, pushing an immobile and trembling Papyrus aside.

The layout of the room felt… awfully familiar, sending a shiver down his stem, it reminded Flowey of Alphys’s Lab, he felt his anger steadily swelling inside him. That freak had a personal lab of his own, just what else was he hiding? What was he working on in here? It was clearly something he kept hidden from everyone, even his colleague Alphys, this was something big.

His focus was immediately shifted to the tarp covering something quite large and imposing in the corner at the end of the room.

“F-Flowey… what is this place…?”

*Oh right… he had almost forgot about that idiot.*

Flowey didn’t bother turning around and continued heading carefully towards the furthest corner, looking to the ceiling and the walls, making sure there were no hidden cameras in the room. He tried to keep his voice as friendly as he could, struggling not to betray is annoyance with the skeleton monster.

“That’s what we are figuring out right now... Papyrus, so help me search, surely there is something of importance here.”

He reached the corner, carefully lifting the tarp, uncovering a strange machine under it. He had never seen anything like it, at least not in Alphys’s lab… what was its purpose?

“F.. Flo… Flowey…”

Flowey rolled his eyes, knots forming in his roots.

*Now WHAT!?!*

He wasn’t about to give this crybaby bony toothpick any attention, he had serious stuff to look at, he finally had something novel he could look at. He pretended not to hear him and continued his investigation of the strange machine.

“I… I… know this… Flowey…… I.”

Why couldn’t he just be silent for once!?! All these incessant pleas for attention were getting on his nerves and fast. He let the tarpaulin drop to the ground and glared at Papyrus, he had something in his hand, a small piece of paper, something worthless, insignificant. He turned his back on him again, barely containing his anger.

*STOP -WASTING- MY TIME!!!*

“I’ve… seen this before…… I… Flowey… What… is this!?!”

Flowey could hear Papyrus bones rattling. Great. Just what he needed right now. He didn’t have time to deal with Papyrus’s emotional breakdown now. His roots kept on twisting and gathering.

No.

Flowey had enough, he didn’t care anymore. Papyrus had served his purpose… that machine was way more important than whatever was going through Papyrus’s inferior brain.

“Flow-“

Flowey slammed a vine on the ground right next to Papyrus, startling the skeleton, silencing him on the spot.

“JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!! I have no further use for you!”

Flowey’s grin grew wide and distorted, he was staring at Papyrus who had now dropped whatever he had been holding and tried taking a step back, his left hand clenching hard at his forearm, and with reason. The terrified and confused look on his face when he realised that Flowey was firmly holding his ankles with his vines was priceless.

“Fl-Flowey? What… are you…? What… did… you…?”

Flowey slowly slithered closer, steadily growing more vines upwards, interweaving them, coiling around every single bone of Papyrus’s body until his prey was completely still.

“You heard me right Papyrus.”

He could see it in Papyrus’s eyes, pure, raw, genuine fear. Flowey’s voice was rough, guttural.

“I. Have. No. Further. Use. For. You. Papyrus.”

Flowey tilt his head backwards, closing his eyes, he felt in a trance. He knew his prey was begging, pleading, trembling, sobbing, but he couldn’t hear none of it, he simply kept on grinning and tittered scornfully.

It just felt. Right. Perfect. It was just what he needed right now, what he had been craving for such a long time. It was time to indulge his urges.

“They are all lying to you, Papyrus… and so did I.”

He continued extending his vines inwards, between each joint, each bone, ripping his clothing in multiple location, completely restraining his now hiccupping prey. He could now touch his soul, gently caressing its edges with the tip of a tendril, feeling its soft glow pulsating… such a fragile thing… such a pure thing… he wanted to see it, so badly, to rip it out and see its light fade out to nothingness.

“So delicate, my sweet Papyrus…”

Flowey felt so close to Papyrus, holding him firmly, gauging the limits of exertion his joints could endure before dislocating, constricting his ribcage, bending him backward to the point where he could barely breathe.

He curled himself around him, bringing his face into Papyrus’s field of view, his eyes barely had any light in them and were flickering as if he were on the verge of losing consciousness. Flowey gently wiped some tears off his cheekbones with one of his leaves, admiring the sight or such a broken, vulnerable thing. He pulled back some of his vines restraining his jaw.

“…… plea….se…… Fl…w…… pl-“

Flowey put a leaf on his mouth prompting him to stop and smiled at him softly, a kind and caring expression on his face.

“Please what, Papyrus?”

Flowey removed his leaf from his mouth looking at him struggle to breathe, struggle to form words, such a pleasing sight.

“…. please…. s… stop….”

Flowey gently put his leaves on both of Papyrus’s temples his eyes dead locked into his. His expression slowly distorting into a murderous grin.

“No, no no no Papyrus… I can’t stop… that’s EXACTLY what I LIVE FOR!!!”

He grasped at his soul with his tendrils and forcefully ripped his soul outwards shattering his ribcage in the process, his body slowly turning to dust all over his vines… The gentle glow of Papyrus’s soul vanishing out of existence a few moments later as he cradled it against himself.

“My sweet, sweet Papyrus… time, after time… you never cease to please.”

He couldn’t have felt anything better than this, he shivered relishing the moment.

And everything went silent again.

He paused and let a sigh escape him.

Finally, he could concentrate.

He stretched upwards, shaking some dust off his body and continued looking around the room, noticing the Blueprint on the counter, that was sure to be something of importance, but first, that machine. He grabbed the tarp and pulled it off in one go, lifting a swirl of dust into the room, apparently, it had been sitting there for quite some time. The machine was missing a few panels here and there, cables, connectors loosely dangling.

“Tch!”

The damn thing looked incomplete, which didn’t help Flowey in any way.

He curled up on his stem, frowning, tendril rubbing from chin to cheek.

Judging he had stood there long enough, he snatched the blueprint and left, leaving a pile of dust and torn clothing resting on the ground behind him. He closed the door and grabbed the silver key in a hurry. Taking the machine with him was out of the question for now, it was too large and surely someone would hear or see him.

“Not worth the risk.”

It wasn’t worth it for now at least, that blueprint, however, was worth investigating further at his own leisure.

He swiftly erased his and Papyrus’s footsteps and burrowed underground, retreating to one of his secret safe places. His only regret would be that he couldn’t see Sans’s face when he forcefully pulled his pathetic brother’s soul out from his ribcage.

“Sharing is caring… too bad this will only be my own personal cherished moment.”

Flowey pulled himself out in a clearing deep in the valley, far away from everything. He unrolled the blueprint on a nearby boulder, looking attentively at the schematic and the formulas, trying to understand any of it…

“What the hell is that handwriting?”

He was furious, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t understand any of it. Just when he had finally found something about that bony freak! Why did it have to be cryptic?

He knew he was no scientist, but not being able to make out a single word or a single character was a first, even for him… he couldn’t accept this. He couldn’t let Sans get to him like this. He couldn’t let him win. Never.

“That bastard… I’ll… I’ll…”

He tore the blueprint apart in a fit of rage, tiny pieces scattering around him on the ground.

He couldn’t let Sans win, there had to be something else back there, something he overlooked.

He tried calming himself down, closing his eyes and concentrating, replaying the events of the night in his mind. His thoughts coming to a stop at a sudden realisation.

“Papyrus…”

Flowey recalled how he heard Papyrus say something.

That he had seen something in that room before, that he knew, that he recognized… He knew something even though he clearly never been into or known of this room’s existence before Flowey showed it to him. A devious smile crept on his face.

“Papyrus didn’t lie about not knowing about this room before…”

He was always such a good boy… he didn’t lie then and surely didn’t lie back in that room… there really was something in there that he knew something about… Flowey was onto something, he could work with that.

It enraged him to admit it, but maybe he had gotten rid of him on an impulse too quickly… he could still use Papyrus… to try and figure out what that blueprint and weird machine were meant for.

He cursed at himself for fucking up this badly, slamming his vines on the boulder repeatedly until they were numb.

But he could try again. He would get it right.

That’s was exactly why he had prepared such precautions beforehand.

He built up and concentrated all his magical power into a single point in his main stem.

“Time to do this again.”

~~~

Papyrus woke up abruptly, barely holding back a scream, horrible feeling lingering in each bone of his body as if he had been crushed by a thousand boulders over and over. His soul was aching and burning, a soft whisper echoing in his mind in a deep and unfamiliar voice.

*Don’t Forget.*

He brought a hand to his temple and shivered. He was in his home, on the sofa, his brother’s hoodie slowly slipping off him and falling limply to the floor. That strange voice kept on calling to him.

*Don’t Forget.*

He sat up, his mind was muddled, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he couldn’t recall exactly what had happened. He never had trouble remembering anything before… He must’ve had some sort of nightmare to feel this jumbled up.

*Don’t Forget.*

“Don’t forget… what?”

He shook his head, trying very hard to clear the thick fog enveloping his mind.

His brother had caught him… he… healed his injuries…

No, that didn’t quite feel right… was it something else… ?

He looked down to his trembling hands, he was sure he had been holding something… something very important, but his hands were empty. He felt as if a part of his soul and his memories had been ripped away from him, leaving an empty void that he couldn’t fill, that he couldn’t even begin to explain.

There was a loud crash coming from the washroom, snapping him back to reality, something had hit the ground and shattered. He turned his head to face the washroom door, only noticing now that he could hear the water running from the inside.

“Brother…?”

He got to his feet, slightly dizzy, his mind still in a haze. He walked to the door, he could still hear the water running.

“Sans… Everything okay?”

No answer. He felt slightly annoyed, this wasn’t funny he didn’t feel like being made fun of at all.

He knocked on the door, frowning.

“Sans! Stop joking around!”

Still no answer. A wave of anguish was slowly gripping at his soul. Maybe his brother slipped in the shower and injured himself? Maybe he hit his head and passed out? He knew any injury could be dangerous for Sans, and it worried him all the more. He tried opening the door.

Locked.

He knocked again, harder.

“SANS, answer me!”

His breathing was ragged, he would have answered already if he were fine, right? He tried swallowing some of his growing concern, he could feel his soul tightening in his chest. He had to do something, now. Had to make sure everything was okay, that his brother was fine.

He took a step back and dashed, ramming his upper body as hard as he could, shoulder first into the door, the wood creaking under the impact and sending a jolt of pain through his shoulder. He couldn’t give up now, he took a few steps back, putting all his weight into another impact, this time ripping the latch strike from the door frame, sending wood splinters flying across the room and the door swinging open. Papyrus fell forward to his knees with the momentum, catching his fall with his hands and quickly lifting his head up to look in the room.

“Sans!”

His brother was nowhere to be seen.

He slowly rose to his feet, rubbing at his stinging shoulder, looking around the washroom. His red scarf was resting right next to the sink, the drinking glass that was usually beside the sink had been knocked over and was now scattered in tiny pieces across the floor. His voice was weak, shaky, fearful.

“Sans… are you here?”

He approached the shower, water still running, steam filling the upper portion of the room. He advanced slowly, watching his step, careful to not step on any piece of glass and injure his feet.

He arrived beside the shower, his shaking hand a few centimeters away from the shower curtain, scared of what he might find when he would pull it open.

*Please, please, please, be okay… please let this just be an elaborate prank.*

He closed his eyes and pulled the curtain in one swift movement.

He pried one eye open, fearful, Sans wasn’t there. He let out a long half-reassured sigh.

“Brother… where… are you…?”

He turned off the water, and looked down, finding his battle body bundled up beside the drain. Why was it there? He knelt, extending his right hand to grab it, his whole body recoiling when he finally noticed many large stains of dust covering it.

He tried to back away in shock, slipping on the wet floor and falling on his back, flinching in pain when his hands fell on top of pieces of broken glass.

His head was spinning, he felt like throwing up at the gruesome sight.

What was his battle body doing there? Why did Sans have it? Why was it covered in dust? Where did the dust come from? Where… Where was Sans?

Something felt terribly wrong… like if his very soul was… tainted, somehow.

“Think… think… think… Papyrus.”

He looked around trying to find anything that would help him make sense of anything.

He brought his arms to his chest, clenching at his forearm, trying to control his breathing.

“Think… think… think. Remember. Remember!”

His thoughts were racing… he tried focusing, concentrating on replaying the events that got him here, he woke up, heard the glass shatter, got up and…

“The door!”

He looked behind him, the door, it was locked. Meaning Sans had to be in here… the door could only be locked from the inside. The water was running, the glass had fallen and shattered, did something happen to his brother? He needed to find him. Sans needed his help!

*How about we go open that door now?*

He winced, a tingling feeling growing in the back of his head.

*Everything will make sense when we do Papyrus.*

Everything was mixing up, doors, locks… Flowey, Sans… his soul was being pulled at in so many directions, unanswered questions in every corner of his mind. He couldn’t get his memories straight and that distant whisper kept calling to him with its deep voice.

*Papyrus… Don’t forget…*

What was he forgetting…?

Something felt wrong, very, very wrong… His thoughts were scattered, unfocused, he needed to calm down. He felt as if something dark was clinging to him, clogging his thoughts and reaching for his soul.

He got to his feet and headed for the sink, he opened the tap, gathering as much water as he could into his hands and rubbed his hands down his face a few times, trying desperately to wash away some of his anxiety and confusion.

He closed his eyes, taking long deep breaths and closed the tap.

He opened his eyes, wiping some steam off the mirror with his hand and looked at his reflection. He looked awful, tired, and noticed some light marks around his eye sockets. He leaned in looking closer, there were small cracks, he ran a finger over one of them, a light soreness coming from it. This somehow felt familiar, but something was amiss.

“No claw marks…?”

He flinched, a throbbing pain going through his head for an instant and completely gone in a second… wait… what was he saying? He never had any marks before! What was wrong with him today!?!

All that steam was probably getting to his head… that had to be it… steam could do that right? That had to be the explanation for all this. He needed to get out of there, the steam, the dust on his battle body, the marks around his eye sockets, the strange voice… everything was making his head hurt.

He looked down to the counter, feeling a strange compulsion to take his scarf and left the room in a hurry, he had to find his brother.

He pulled his phone out and entered Sans’s number, pacing back and forth in front of the television, it rang and rang and rang.

No answer, nothing, not even a voicemail recording.

He tapped his heel multiple time on the floor in irritation, he knew Sans was probably too lazy to even configure it.

“Where are you brother…?”

If Sans was not at home, there was a slight chance he might be at one of his sentry posts, he had to try that.

He climbed up to his room in a hurry, changed into a set of clean and warmer clothing, adjusted his scarf around his neck and headed outside towards the ruins.

Papyrus stopped in his tracks just after passing the welcome to Snowdin sign at the edge of town… he couldn’t chase the impression of déjà vu going through his head.

He walked closer to the bridge bringing a hand to his skull, a sudden realisation coming to him like a punch to the gut.

“I… already tried… I… can’t get across…”

How could he remember failing to cross it when he had just arrived next to it…? He was the great Papyrus… he couldn’t fail like that, he was the one who created that puzzle.

He scratched at his head furiously, painfully trying to make any sense of what was happening.

Everything felt so disjointed.

*Don’t forget, Papyrus.*

Who’s voice was this? It wasn’t his own… what did it want from him?

He shook his head frantically, no, he didn’t have time for this, he needed to find Sans. If he couldn’t get across, he’d just have to figure out something else.

He looked around, there had to be another way.

He felt a shiver of disgust, he knew of at least one other place Sans could be, he turned on his heels heading back towards Snowdin in a hurried pace.

He slowed to a halt when passing in front of Grillby’s, moving closer to the tinted windows, bringing one hand over his brow, trying to see if his brother may be inside. He really wanted to avoid going in, the smell of grease would cling to him all day long.

“Not here…”

He felt some relief not seeing his brother slacking off and eating greasy food, but that still didn’t help him locate his brother. It would take him all day just trying to find him through his multiple stations…

“That’s it!”

He had an idea, he searched in his pocket for his phone, pulled it out and entered Undyne’s number.

“Hello Undyne!”

“Hey Paps, what’s up?”

“Was wondering, have you seen my brother around one of his stations today?”

“Tch! You tell me! Ain’t he at Grillby’s place!?! Cause he sure wasn’t at his Waterfall station!”

Papyrus swore he could hear spears being thrown and distant screaming.

“Um… everything okay Undyne?”

“Pisses me off, thinkin he can just-“

The screaming continued in the background while Undyne could be heard grunting and panting.

“You know what… call you later, okay Paps? Kinda have a- STAY STILL!!! … a situation here.”

“O-okay… sure.”

“I’ll see you later at our extra-private, one-on-one training.”

“COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE PUNK!! NGAHHHHH!!!!”

Her voice was so loud that he almost dropped his phone, barely catching it before it hit the ground. She had already hung up. He felt down, he was really hoping she would help him out, he was all alone.

He felt a strange emptiness in his soul, a familiar itching sensation slowly creeping in the back of his head.

*Papyrus… Don’t forget.*

He shut his eyes, clutching at his head with both hands, scratching his skull frantically.

“Stop it, I don’t know what you want!”

He suddenly stopped and looked around him realizing he was still standing right next to Grillby’s. He felt all the surrounding monster’s gazes upon him, each one averting their eyes when he looked towards any of them, he was used to them avoiding him, but somehow this felt worse than usual.

*They are all lying to you, Papyrus…*

He looked to his feet and pulled his scarf up, trying to cover his face. He just wanted to hide away in a corner and cry. He darted away, taking a left turn towards the river. He had to keep himself busy, had to concentrate on finding his brother, that’s what really mattered. That’s the only thing that mattered right now.

He concentrated on what he knew, Sans wasn’t at his Waterfall station, which left him with his Snowdin and Hotland stations. He was in absolutely no hurry to venture into Hotland… the fastest way to any of these locations would be the river person’s boat.

They always traveled west on the river, surely, he could just jump off somewhere in the frozen valley before arriving to any destination. That way he could reach Sans's station near the ruins, that was a brilliant idea, he could make it that way, he could completely bypass the bridge.

He approached the hooded figure’s boat.

“Hello River Person!”

The figure turned to face him, ever so calmly.

“Tra la la. Care for a ride?”

Papyrus hopped on the boat with a proud smile on his face, his plan would work, he knew it.

“Where will we go today?”

“Waterfall, please.”

The river person slowly turned to face forward.

“Then we’re off…”

The boat started moving west as Papyrus had expected, he just needed to be ready to jump at the first opportunity he could find.

“Tra la la. The piano plays the tinkling song.”

He looked towards the river person’s back, a strange mist growing in his head, he swore he could hear a melody in the back of his mind, it felt familiar somehow, like if it were raining.

“Hmm… tinkling.”

He shook his head and slapped his cheekbones, the painful sting bringing him back to his senses. He had to be on the lookout for his opportunity to jump off. He had to...

He caught sight of a fishing line in the corner of his eye, just on time.

He jumped off in a hurry without thinking.

===

Here is a little wink I promised someone;

[Drawing/Picture](https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArWyj2FkLQdmhAohcVb8fDrLPoTG)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect longer delays for publications in the next 2 weeks - work related reasons.


	11. A1F5 - Machines don't lie...

_Oh, absolutely Undyne, this is a very important and mandatory phone upgrade! Now if you would just hand it over here for a moment, aaaand- there you go! Now your phone is equipped with um… the all new, top of the line, lip recognition… Oh… Its purpose? Ahh w-w-well… it allows you to register your lips on your phone… it’s um… completely secure and 100% confidential of course…! He-he he… And then you can totally, um unlock your phone using a super secret… li… lip… combination that you select and… then when you unlock it you get this totally awesome Mew Mew Kissy Cutie unlock sound. And…_

A loud beep rang through her ears jolting her awake, sending her computer chair spinning not far behind her.

“Ahh! I swear it’s for an important scientific research!!!”

Alphys stood behind her screen, sweaty, and wide eyed, the whole room was pitch black except for her computer screen that dimly lit her desk and her face. She started blushing.

“J-just a dream. Ha-ha, of course…”

The beeping continued ringing, she clicked on the blinking notification at the bottom of her screen, bringing the alert into the forefront in full view. It was a sensor alert from the CORE Monitoring System, the various real-time graphs on screen showed a significant drop in the power output readings over a short period of time. She leaned in closer.

“What is this…?”

She quickly opened a terminal session, typing commands in a hurry, she was starting to worry.

//… CORE Ventilation System --- AirQuality::OK; Airflow::OK; Exhaust::OK; InternalPressure::OK;

//… CORE Cooling --- Temperature within operational thresholds;

//… Underground Power Grid --- EnergyOutput[OK]; EnergyDistribution[OK];

She adjusted her glasses and scratched her head, confused, all the critical systems were showing as normal, everything seemed to be running as intended with the CORE. She glanced back at the graphs with the power sensors, they were all displaying normal values now, as they normally would. She let out a sigh of relief and acknowledged the alert, finally silencing that stressful alarm.

“Phew… must just be a blip, an error, n-nothing to worry too much about, right…?”

Alphys took a few steps away from her desk and stretched, trying to rid herself of some stiffness in her upper body. She had fallen asleep on her computer chair, her head resting sideways on one of her arms, she had a post-it paper sticking on the side of her face, it was still somewhat wet with saliva. She took it off and put it back on her desk right next to a mountain of empty noodle bowls. Alphys told herself she really needed to improve some of her life habits… at least no one saw her in that messy, undignified state.

“Such a remarkable and outstanding Royal scientist I make…. ughh…”

She could faintly hear the outro music from a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie episode coming from her computer. She remembered queuing the whole season so she could binge watch them before going to bed, guess she just got so invested that she just forgot the ‘go to bed’ part of it. She jumped back on her chair, swiveled towards her desk, pulling herself in reach of her keyboard and stopped the ongoing playlist, closing the video player. Now she’d have that song in her head for a good part of the day, that theme song was so damn catchy. She smiled to herself, humming a few notes from the song joyfully.

“I’ll need to resume watching where I dozed off when I have some free time…”

She opens her agenda, hoping to find a stretch of free time she could reserve for ‘Human History Research’ or ‘Human Behavior Analysis’ or any elaborate name she could figure out to justify her indulging into her hobby, when her eyes finally locked onto a big chunk of her afternoon that was already scheduled for something.

“Umm… There isn’t anything usually there…”

She leans back adjusting her glasses and blinked a few times. She read the appointment name.

“Monthly Report to King…”

“OH NO!!! I totally forgot about it!”

She looks at the appointment, double checks the time and the date in panic, bringing her claws to her mouth in shock. It was indeed today, she had her important monthly meeting with Asgore today to report her current progress and any new findings on her research but, her report wasn’t ready. She had nothing ready.

“Oh no…. my report! It’s nowhe… it’s not… I don’t…”

She didn’t really make any progress anywhere… and things weren’t going that well in the lab, she was running out of ideas. What would she even present to Asgore? What would he think of her, as the Royal Scientist… to fail so badly at everything she attempts? At everything that was expected of her… that was asked of her!

*He will just hate me…*

“Oh no, no no! What do I do?”

She heard her phone beeping, snapping her out of her thoughts, she pulls it out, still somewhat in panic.

“A… message from, Sans?”

*On my way to the lab. Now. Urgent.

She looked at the message with concern almost trembling, this wasn’t like him to-

The automatic door at the end of the lab slid open, and there he stood, his silhouette outlined in the ever-present redish glow of Hotland. He was drenched and she could see some steam evaporating from his upper body. She couldn’t help but stare in awe at such a dramatic entrance.

“S-Sans! What’s happening? Why do you look like that!?!”

She promptly entered a command on her keyboard turning on the lights in the room. He was walking towards her desk leaving wet prints of his shoes behind him.

“Just some shower mishap, nothing important.”

This was way too weird, she wasn’t sure what to think.

“Ah o-okay, but I mean-“

“Alphys, I need your help with something here, its really important.”

She gulped and looked at him, she didn’t want to disappoint him.

“OMG. Please, tell me what is happening? I will help as much as I can!”

He continued walking towards her desk glancing at her files on her desk and looking at the graphs on her monitor, he didn’t seem stressed at all for someone who said his matter was urgent. Not that Sans was ever very expressive about his emotional states at any time. But Alphys could tell he was looking for something.

“Not entirely sure, hoping you could fill me in with the facts...”

“Then how can you say it’s urgent? This doesn’t make any sense! What is on your mind?”

That seriousness in his gaze, it had been a long while since she saw him like that. She could always turn to him for help about anything abnormal or odd, he always had something to say, to cheer her up or ideas that helped her… but he rarely ever asked her for anything big… except to keep his brother out of anything she, he or they worked on. What could be his reason to ask for her help today?

“You could say it’s a hunch… something is off, I can feel it in my bones.”

He was just standing there looking aloof as usual, she didn’t have time to joke around, she still had that report to prepare for Asgore. She started fidgeting and tried to slowly gather some loose notes on her desk in a pile next to her.

“Sans… I mean… if you don’t tell me anything specific… um… I can’t really help… and I kinda, have a lot of work to-“

“Alphys, was there anything unusual that happened with the CORE a short while ago?”

“Huh?”

She paused at his questions, scratching her chin with her claw, thinking for a few moments.

“Well… There was this unusual power sensor reading… um alert that came in this morning… but it all went back to normal, I already checked it… maybe it was just a sensor issue…?”

Alphys was startled when Sans laid a hand on her shoulder she could swear she saw some blue light in his eye for a brief instant, must just be a reflection from the monitor.

“Which sensor? Where?”

“Ah, um, wait gimme a moment, I’ll show you.”

She turned to her keyboard and started typing, opening various log files filled with raw data. She then opened the real-time graphs of the sensors.

“…um…”

She opened a few more graphs comparing the multitudes of lines side by side.

“Hmm… now that I look at it… it looks like most… if not all the sensors caught some sort of um significative drop in their readings, maybe about 20 minutes ago, 25 minutes tops…”

She could swear she heard his fist clenching in his pockets, his smile barely waning.

“But Sans, I mean… nothing went offline, there’s no need to worry, and um… all the readings and values are currently within normal operation range, maybe it was just a random glitch with the display or the logging service that timed out or something.”

Sans was looking at the graphs, she couldn’t see his eye lights, did he not trust her?

“Is that how you would explain it Alphys?”

Somehow that reply felt as daggers piercing her soul.

*You hate me too don’t you…*

She turned to the left trying to organize her pile of notes in a more orderly fashion, unable to look him in the eye.

“Listen its impossible that the CORE would run out of power… it runs on geothermal energy… okay, maybe it detected a tiny drop in the output… but as far as I know the CORE is still up and running and surrounded by molten lava… I’m more concerned about the ventilation or the exhaust system failing or breaking… I mean…”

*All I do is hurt people*

She glanced in his direction, Sans just stood there looking down to a piece of paper in his hand.

“Listen Sans… I… I really have to work on this monthly report for King Asgore… and I haven’t really slept much… and I really need to tend to ‘them’ soon before they too become a major issue…”

*I’ve got to keep lying…*

Another glance, Sans was completely immobile, she still couldn’t see his face.

“I don’t know what to do and there’s so much I can’t explain to you, to Asgore, to… to all their families… I… sorry Sans… I really have to concentrate on my work now…”

The more Alphys looked, it seemed he wasn’t even looking at the piece of paper and just standing there like some beaten up animal.

*All I do is hurt people*

Sans put the piece of paper back on her desk and turned to face her with a soft reassuring smile on his face.

“It’s okay Alphys, just concentrate on your report. I’ll tend to things in the lab for you today, okay…?”

She took her pile of notes clenching them to her chest a disgusting feeling of failure clinging to her soul and headed upstairs to her room unable to look him into the eyes.

“Th-thank you Sans…. and… sorry… I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow…”

*You know that’s another lie.*

Alphys left Sans behind at her desk, unable to look back at him, she felt like a complete failure as a scientist.

~~~

Flowey was leaning over his leaves looking through a vent, Sans was looking through so many log files on Alphys computer in deep concentration, taking the occasional note on a scrap of paper. He didn’t really care if Sans made any sense of the data from those sensors they had talked about. The important thing is that he was busy here and not anywhere near his house in Snowdin.

Sans wasn’t hard to find, Flowey knew he’d come to the lab… that’s where all the tools were, it’s the only logical place to start investigating. He knew that freak would eventually find a way to pinpoint the source point of the power drop, he was annoyingly good at tracking him when he put his mind to the task. Still, it was of no concern for now, he still had time and many attempts before that even became a concern. He looked down on him with disdain.

*Struggle all you want, even if you figure out where I was, its MY win if you can figure out MY objective. I am way ahead of you and will always be!*

It was almost comical how in a single reset Sans had gone from concerned about his bro’s wellbeing to completely ignoring his younger brother altogether. He’d have to let Papyrus know someday, just how little he mattered to his big bro when things got out of hand, just to see his saddened expression at this reveal.

He crawled carefully through the ventilation shafts until he could see Alphys in her room through an opening, she was pacing back and forth in front of her workbench a load of notes spread out all over its surface. Flowey’s smile grew wide, she was also out of commission for a while with that stupid report.

*Hee hee, talk about a deficient scientist duo.*

With the two of them split up in such a way and busy on their own separate time-consuming tasks, Flowey was free to do as he pleased with no hindrance of any kind. This was as perfect an opportunity as it could get, it was about time to go find his best bud Papyrus and get him to look at that mysterious Blueprint.

Flowey crawled all the way back towards the exit, taking a final glance at Sans before leaving that accursed building. He was still going through walls of text of raw data output and rubbing at his head angrily mumbling to himself. Flowey chuckled softly, seeing him struggle as such would have to suffice for now. He’d figure something out to make him regret ever trying to go up against him after figuring out the truth behind his secret machine.

Flowey burrowed himself and made his way through Waterfall taking a few peaks here and there trying to locate the tall idiot. A bunch of monsters were gathering not far from Temmie village, some sort of fight perhaps, he was about to go take a closer look when he heard stomping approaching from afar.

“That spear loving freak… Great. Better get away from here before boulders start being flung around carelessly.”

He hid himself behind a large crystal waiting for Undyne to walk past him, he had no intention to become a pincushion for any stray spear she might decide to randomly throw out. He waited a while longer making sure to hear some yelling further away before resuming his search.

Flowey proceed further until he arrived near the skeleton’s house, he peeked from a hiding spot with a frontal view, there was no activity inside. He went back under and circled behind the house, very cautious and looked through the windows facing the back of the house, no one was inside. It wasn’t a good idea to break in, better keep his tracks to the bare minimum.

Flowey continued to lurk, prowling behind the house, still on the lookout for his bony friend, staying out of sight of the camera that faced towards Snowdin’s river access. He was still nowhere to be found however, Flowey overheard a conversation between monsters that did mention Papyrus, he inched closer curious.

“Always knew he was a bit whacked in the head.”

“I know right? Who was he even talking to? Not like any of us were near or anything.”

“I just hope he didn’t see me staring at him… he’s kinda scary and way too loud… I don’t want him thinking things…”

“Well let’s just keep avoiding him, it’s always safer that way… wish he could be a bit more like his brother Sans. I really like Sans, he’s funny.”

“Yeah! You should have seen him that time at Grillby’s, he played cards against the whole canine unit, I think Grillby called him on is tab or somethin’ and he was super serious about it… it was like if he knew where all the cards were, and he ended up winning the whole thing in a huge showdown! Even Grillby himself was all fired up about the whole thing!”

“Man… I really wished Sans was around right now, sure would need a good laugh!”

Flowey could not go anywhere and not hear someone rambling about how Sans had done such and such, or simply hearing them pathetically trying to tell a joke he’d made without any context and completely out of order. It was just irritating him, he wasn’t here to listen to idle chitchat anyway... hearing the villagers speak in such a way just meant Papyrus was no longer around here, but he couldn’t be that further ahead. He’d just search along the road in the forest, he was bound to find him somewhere eventually.

He continued advancing along the main path, keeping to the forest, out of reach of any of the canines to avoid being detected by their sensitive noses. He still took a few extra seconds to make one of lesser dog’s snow sculptures crumble with the precise movement of an extended root from afar. The small canine had heard the snow collapse and whined when it noticed the broken statue of itself, making Flowey smile too much for that underwhelming accomplishment, sometimes it was the small acts that counted the most.

Flowey eventually arrived where he first started acting out to get this whole plan into motion and noticed a pair of red boots visible from behind a large boulder. He instantly recognised the boots as Papyrus’s, he slowly approached reducing the distance separating them and trying to get a better angle to observe him.

He was sitting in the snow legs outstretched, feet pointing outward, his back against the large rock, his left hand was over his face, fingers tracing from brow to nasal bone repeatedly. He seemed to be deeply lost into his thoughts. Flowey tried throwing a pebble in the snow right next to him, no reaction. Oh well, he always liked giving him a startle anyway, he got under the snow and popped out with a friendly smile right between his boots.

“Howdy Papyrus! What are you doing here? What’s got you looking so down my friend?”

“Hey Flowey… have you seen my brother Sans today?”

Well, that was a first, not even greeting him, no overtly loud voice, no jump scare, nothing. He didn’t even look him into the eyes, he just kept on sitting there blankly staring into the distance one hand resting over his left eye. Flowey tilted sideway, bringing a leaf to his mouth acting deep in thought.

“Can’t say I have. Why are you looking for him Papyrus? Did anything happen?”

Papyrus closed his eyes and sighed, he looked exhausted.

“I’ve searched throughout the valley… he’s not here… I need to find him… I… think he might be injured, and he needs my help… I have to look after him.”

*Work with him, you must work with this imbecile, at his own pace…*

“Why do you believe he is injured Papyrus?”

Flowey could see him staring at the snow between his feet, he pulled his legs back to himself and hugged them a slight tremble in his arms, his mouth was moving but his voice didn’t come out.

*What the hell is wrong with him, now? Snap out of it we have a job to do! That basement is waiting for us.*

Flowey lowered himself in front of him, extending a leaf over one of his knees, gently rubbing it. Papyrus eye lights were now looking in his direction. Some sort of progress.

“Papyrus, you can tell me what happened, I am your friend, I want to help you.”

He tucked his head down avoiding his gaze and with his left hand pulled up on his scarf in a pitiful attempt to hide his expression.

*People can read you like an open book, gosh, just spill the beans out and let’s get moving.*

“Flowey… I woke up and heard something break in our washroom… I knocked and yelled, but Sans, didn’t respond… so I broke the door open… but I don’t understand, he wasn’t there… the room was full of steam and the water was running and there was glass all over the floor… and then I found… I… found… I…”

“What did you find Papyrus?”

“My… my battle body… it… was in the shower… it… it...”

He brought his left hand to cover his mouth and turned to the side as if he was about to regurgitate.

“Tell me Papyrus, I -need- to know.”

*I need all the details, ALL of them!*

He took long deep breaths, slowly calming down.

“Flowey… It… was covered with so much dust… it… ”

*Ohh, this was great news! What a great day so far! Lost of new valuable information.*

“Its okay Papyrus, its okay, you’re not alone anymore, it must have been such a horrible sight. Please continue, what happened next?”

“And Undyne didn’t see him either and I tried calling him, but he won’t even answer…”

“Papyrus… do you think it might have something to do with what is hidden behind that door behind your house?”

Flowey felt Papyrus twitch at the mention of the secret room. Gentle nudges in the right direction, keep nudging.

“I… I don’t know… maybe?”

And now, to seal the deal.

“I think it’s worth checking out, you know where the key is right?”

“No.”

“What!?! But you…”

“Hmm…?”

“Agh, nevermind… just give me a moment here.”

Why did he not know where the key was…? Was it because Sans did something different than before? It had to be that right? Should he reset again? No… that did not guarantee anything different regarding the key… Why in hell didn’t he ask Papyrus where the key was when Papyrus knew its location? Did Sans carry it with him? No… he didn’t have it on him last time… Should he bet on Papyrus finding it again? Damn, this was so frustrating! They had no obstacles to investigate the basement, but without the key all that time and opportunity was wasted. He’d have to make Papyrus search the house and quick.

“Papyrus. We are going to find that key, okay? I’ll meet you behind your house, just head there right now, I’ll wait for you.”

“NO - Flowey… Wait!”

Papyrus had grabbed one of his vines and pulled on him before he could completely dig himself underground. That was unlike him, he usually kept his hands to himself, Flowey looked at him, he looked ashamed of something, what was wrong with him?

“I… um… can’t go back.”

*Oh. Right. Of course.*

Flowey tilted his head sideways, sticking out his tongue and winking to his friend.

“Don’t worry Papyrus, if it’s because of the dust, I won’t let you alone, I’ll be nearby!”

Flowey tried burrowing again, Papyrus still wouldn’t let go, his grip was firm but remained gentle.

“I… can’t cross…… bridge…”

“…”

Flowey stared at him with a blank face, wait… what was that just now?

“So………… you can’t… cross…… a bridge…?”

Papyrus’s grip loosened, but he kept on holding him, still unable to look in Flowey’s direction, simply nodding once. Flowey was just expressionless, this was just random and silly, he had legs, he could walk. There were so many bridges to cross to even get to where he was sitting right now. But he didn’t lie, this was somehow serious.

“Why…?”

“I don’t really know… it feels like I tried it before… I can’t really explain it… my head hurt when I got there and somehow I just know I’ll fall.”

Papyrus was rubbing at his head and staring down at the snow beside him. The people from Snowdin were right, he was being a little extra… weird today. Papyrus wasn’t crying or whining, he just looked downright confused and exhausted. Was he talking about when he fell into that ravine? Did he hit his head too bad and it affected his memory? What did he mean by tried it before?

“Papyrus… what do you… remember exactly?”

He was looking at his left hand opening and closing it slowly in front of his ribcage. As if something would just appear magically inside it upon opening it again.

“I need to find… something…”

*Yep – He totally hit his head too hard, still as dumb as ever, nothing to worry about. Just need to keep shoving him in the right direction.*

“Yes Papyrus, we need to find that key!”

Papyrus looked at him and kept silent, Flowey could appreciate a less talkative Papyrus, it would be better for his nerves in the long run. Still, he took a mental note that his toy was now afraid of cliffs and bridges, maybe he could use that somewhere.

“And since you can’t cross that bridge I’ll even carry you there, just don’t move, I’ll only take a few moments, just close your eyes and trust me.”

“You carry me? Whoa wai-“

Flowey pulled on his scarf wrapping it around his face while giggling and tangling him in a sort of cocoon as if it were a friendly skirmish and as soon as he was blinded, he burrowed down along with Papyrus and headed to Snowdin.

Flowey brought Papyrus out near Waterfall’s entrance, safely out of any camera’s range. He was on his knees pulling his scarf off his face and spitting.

“Hee hee, sorry friend if I made you bite on your scarf… but hey, look! Were here now, no more nasty bridge to cross!”

Papyrus finished removing a strand of red fabric stuck between his teeth and looked around surprised.

“Fl-Flowey, that’s… wow, I didn’t know you could move around so fast.”

Flowey simply stuck out his tongue smiling and blinked at him.

“Gee thanks, I sure do!”

Papyrus rose to his feet swatting away some snow that clung to his clothing. He looked to his feet and then to the river at a block of ice slowly floating downstream, his right hand was resting on his ribcage over his soul and his left hand was gripping at his right forearm with a slight tremble in it.

“But… I didn’t like it much. It somehow felt, too scary… I don’t think skeletons should burrow underground.”

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad! I also already said sorry right? Don’t forget why we came here for, your house is not far, let’s go!”

Flowey extended a left grabbing one of his hands and gently pulled on him, but he barely budged. Flowey let go and turned to face him, his left hand was covering his left eye and his fingers were digging in his brow.

“Don’t… forget…”

“Wha-?“

Flowey saw something glimmer in the distance near the entrance to Waterfall’s tunnel, he ducked down and squinted seeing a blue dot with a red line snaking behind, it was approaching and fast. He could now hear the snow crunching heavily under the boots of what was still approaching way too fast, he barely buried himself in the ground in time.

“SNOOOOWWWWWW-WRESTLIIIIIIIINGGGGG!!!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what is painful…? Writing every character’s actions throughout a whole day and only using a few of them at a time for what I believe is the sake of consistency and then altering said day with conditions and triggers and events that shift around… maybe I will improve someday… tried scribbling a timeline of the story on a piece of paper and it ended up looking like a mess of tangled lines and arrows.


	12. P8U2 - Deteriorating Bonds

Papyrus barely had any time to register what was happening. His whole world was literally sent spinning, he could see trees, snow, the river, blue scales, trees again… wait, was that his left boot landing on a tree branch over there? Undyne flung herself at full speed right into him sending the both of them flying about in a flurry of snow.

They tumbled in the snow for quite the distance, roughly hitting the ground multiple times until they finally came to a stop way further with Undyne rising swiftly and securing her hold around Papyrus’s neck. She was holding him in a headlock, this didn’t look good at all.

“You know you got this coming, Paps!”

He tried to stand up, she wouldn’t let him move nor stand, he was doomed.

“No, please not the noogie!!!”

With a gleam in her eye and a wide toothy grin she clenched her hand, cracking her knuckles loudly.

“NOOGIE-TIME!!!

“NOOOOOooooooooo!!!”

She ran her knuckles on his skull, grinding hard while laughing madly.

“FUHUHUHUHUHU!!! It’s the perfect payback! Did you really think you could escape me!?!”

He could barely hear her speaking through all the grinding he was enduring. He was sure his skull would crack open under all this pressure, he had to make her stop, somehow. He shut his eyes and spoke as loudly as he could under the current circumstances.

“Undyne! I am not escaping! I won’t run! Please stop noogying the skeleton!!!”

He wasn’t sure how his tone had gotten through, but she had loosened her hold and stopped the painful grinding.

“Tch! Had enough yet?”

Papyrus nodded silently, a small tear budding at his eye socket.

She let him go and stood up straight, taking a few steps back and putting on an overtly serious expression and even crossing her arms in front of her torso, she was obviously angry for some reason.

Papyrus stood up cautiously, still rubbing at his skull, she was clearly furious at him for something. He made sure to avoid doing any sudden movements and risk triggering another tussle with her. She pointed a single finger at him and spoke sharply, motioning with every word.

“You, Me. Training, NOW!”

He gulped and stared at her, trying as hard as he could not to blink. Their training was not until later today, was it not? He glanced around, it was still somewhat bright outside, not that anyone could see exactly what time of the day it was easily in the underground. He reached to his pocket to find his phone; it would tell him exactly what time it was right now. Undyne was leering at him, rows of grinding sharp teeth clearly visible, she wouldn’t wait for long.

“Don’t try to pull a fast one on me Papyrus! I won’t let both skeletons run away from their engagements towards me today. I’ve got my eye on you.”

He started sweating, still searching desperately in his pockets, he couldn’t find it. His head jolted up, a realisation hitting him.

“My phone! I don’t… It must have fallen when I…”

Undyne tilted her head sideways, looking at him doubtfully, the threatening glare still very much present, she did not have a good day, this looked very bad for him. He almost took a step back but was able to control his fear of an impending suplex and held his position. There was no running away from Undyne, you had to face the danger to survive.

“Fallen when you what?”

Her words were as sharp and piercing as her magical spears, unable to sustain her glare, Papyrus looked to the river shameful for losing his phone in such a way.

“When I… jumped off the boat.”

Undyne closed the gap between them and grabbed both of his shoulder’s way too fast, his head turned to face her, and Papyrus was quite surprised to see her beaming with pride.

“You did What!?! Since when are you doing some insane stunts like that Paps!?! That’s totally awesome!”

“You’re not mad…? I meant… the Great Papyrus always does awesome stunts like that all the time, every time!”

“Mad!?! You know I can’t stay mad at you Papyrus!”

She gave him a hard slap on his shoulder almost sending him to the ground again. It stung a little more than it should have, painfully reminding him how he had thrown himself against the door to his washroom. He rubbed at his shoulder, noticing too late that he was gazing into a blank space right next to him. He looked back to her, hoping she didn’t notice anything, lucky for him, she didn’t seem to be looking at him. Her expression was different for an instant, she didn’t look angry nor happy anymore, she somehow looked… sad?

“Just got me slightly worr-, um angry there… I mean not answering your phone and all, that’s not like you at all. But knowing you were just trying to one-up me by doing cool shit like that is all fine.”

He rubbed a hand to his neck smiling awkwardly, Undyne was back to being all smiles and Papyrus didn’t know what to make of all those shifts in her expression.

“Yeah… Undyne sorry about missing your call, I think I might have dropped the phone in the river, I will have to try and find it back later.”

“Pfft! Don’t sweat it Paps!”

She wrapped her arm around his shoulder pulling him close and motioning in front of her to something grand that only she could see.

“I’ll talk to Alphys and I’m sure she’ll find you an even better one in no time! She always comes up with the greatest phone upgrades!”

She let him go and stood in front of him, her hand resting on her hip a wide smile covering her face from fin to fin.

“Wowie… thanks Undyne!”

He looked at Undyne, she was just in front of him and showing her phone to him, explaining one of its features probably. He wasn’t really listening just contemplating this very moment unraveling in front of him, the sound of the flowing river, the snowflakes falling lightly on his skull and around them, Undyne who was beaming and looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself. He brought a hand to his face and couldn’t help but notice that he was smiling too. It strangely felt like such a long time since he had genuinely smiled like that. Was it right for him to be enjoying himself like this while his brother’s whereabouts were still unclear?

Undyne put her phone away, looking at him with a mischievous smile.

“So, how about we go to your place and make an absolute mess out of the kitchen?”

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely registered her question.

“Kitchen?”

Undyne grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards his house.

“Come on Paps! Let’s make your brother regret skipping on his duties today!”

He tensed up, realizing what was happening, of course Undyne would want to go to his place, but it was out of the question, he couldn’t let her in there… not now at least. With all the damage he had done, the broken door, the glass covering the floor, the shower, his… NO! He absolutely couldn’t let Undyne see his dust covered battle body, he wouldn’t know how to explain it to her, heck, he wasn’t even sure on why it was there and looking like that in the first place. He planted his heels in the snow, stopping them in their tracks. He had to come up with something to prevent that outcome.

“Huh, what is it Papyrus? You know as much as I do that Sans fully deserves it! Just think of that time when he snuck whoopie cushions in your sofa and filmed you with his cellphone… pfffuhuhuhu, pretty sure I still have that video saved somewhere, your expression was pure… erm… -or that time he filled your boots with ketchup, surely you want some payback too? I say its high time he pays his tab!”

He looked to his feet, annoyed, he didn’t want to remember any of these awful memories, it had taken him forever to clean it all away and the smell took even more scrubbing and washing to completely remove. And those nasty whoopie cushions, how dare his own brother frame him for such indecent and unbecoming sounds! He shook his head chasing the horrible memories, trying to concentrate on anything else.

“Surely we can do something else!”

“Ohh? Is painting the walls to your kitchen with vegetable paste and soot not enough for the Great Papyrus?”

He couldn’t think of anything, his arms falling to his sides.

“I… It wouldn’t even bother Sans… I’d be the one cleaning up in the end anyway. I fear nothing even fazes him in the least…”

Suddenly he couldn’t chase away the image of him standing next to the washroom door from his mind. Sans was crying inside while he was too scared to knock or even touch the doorknob. He felt horrible for saying such a thing, it wasn’t true… some things did affect Sans… he just wasn’t sure what was or even why…? The image was starting to vanish from his mind, being replaced by the same thick fog that had been plaguing him since he had woken up, leaving him confused and at a loss for words. He heard Undyne snapping her finger, he looked at her, she was holding her chin, a claw tapping at her cheek.

“You actually got a point there Paps… so what do you wanna do?”

He looked to Undyne then to himself, why was he feeling so helpless? Why couldn’t he chase this growing feeling of fear nesting within his soul? What was he so afraid of? He spoke without thinking, simply looking at his empty left hand… still feeling he had been holding something of dire importance before waking up.

“I want to conquer my fears…”

Undyne whistled, looking at him visibly surprised.

“Whoa Papyrus, that’s kinda… deep.”

She put on a cocky smile and took a step forward bringing her face way too close to his.

“But, you know… I thought that… the Great Papyrus didn’t fear anything!?!”

He took a step back just now realizing what he had said, there was still time to correct himself, right? He cleared his throat and puffed his chest.

“Agh no! You must have heard me wrong! I the Great Papyrus would never fear anything! I simply meant to say… what I wanted to say was… I want to conquer my… to conquer… fear!”

He stood as still as he could holding his pose, trying to look confident.

“Don’t think you could conquer something like fear, especially if you don’t fear anything man.”

He dropped his pose, feeling defeated.

“Nyeh… guess you’re right Undyne.”

“How about aiming to something more precise to conquer then… got anything that comes to your mind?”

Papyrus felt so embarrassed, he couldn’t tell her openly any of his fears, she would totally disown him as a friend and laugh at him. There had to be a non-shameful way of turning this into something constructive. His mind locked onto a single word and he barely spoke it out above a whisper trying his best to keep his cool façade.

“Bridges…”

Undyne stared at him and blinked a few times without saying a word and after a few seconds, she fiercely formed a fist with her hand and brought it up in the air in front of her. She was bearing her fangs, smiling, all fired up about his idea. Papyrus couldn’t help but smile a little in return.

“Bridges? Hell’s Yeah!!! I destroy them all the time! I’m basically, keeping the carpenter trade alive and kicking all on my own, that’s just how awesome I am! And don’t go stealing that title though, it’s all mine!”

She summoned a magical spear and flung it towards the trees violently, breaking one of the branches and freeing Papyrus’s left boot that was still loosely hanging from it.

“Now boot up and get your skinny ass over here! I know the perfect bridge to conquer, just follow me!”

“O-okay!”

He promptly moved to and grabbed his left boot turning it upside down and hitting it a couple of time to remove the snow that had accumulated inside. He slid his foot back in only realizing now that it was quite numb from standing bare in the snow for so long. He followed Undyne who was leading him towards Waterfall.

Of all the things he could say, why did he have to say that one word? He continued following her from further away, uneasiness steadily growing into his soul. He knew something bad was coming, and he was entirely to blame for it. He was in no hurry to learn where she was taking him, unfortunately, there was no running away from Undyne…

“Why did I have to say Bridges?”

~~~

Undyne stood on the edge of the precipice, breathing in the freshness of the air, the surrounding humidity reinvigorating her. There was no doubt in her mind as to why this was her favorite spot in Waterfall, it was such an appropriately named region, her hometown, her playground! She looked around her shoulder to her skeletal friend, unable to chase her deep concern at his behavior, he was being extra weird today.

“Come on Paps, get over here already! That bridge won’t conquer itself!”

“Y-yeah Undyne… coming up.”

She was really looking forward to making his big brother pay for skipping on his duties, her day had been nothing but disappointment after disappointment, she could’ve really used some help with her duties today not that she could even remotely begin to admit that in any way. She clenched her fist, staring at a boulder falling down the waterfall, swallowed into the darkness of the abyss. She let a long sigh escape her, who was she trying to fool… all she really wanted was to vent out and relax. She looked behind her once more, but how could she relax when she still had a duty towards her friend. Papyrus was clearly not feeling alright, she knew that much already, but she didn’t know how to get him to spill it out, she didn’t want him to just run away like he did so during their last training.

“What are you doing over there? That’s not a bridge Papyrus, that a signpost!”

“Nyeh.. heh… it looked somewhat loose, just making sure it was firmly in place, someone has to make sure everything is in order…”

She wanted nothing than slap and run her hand down her face, why did she go along with that ridiculous idea…? He was the one who went all weird and talked about conquering his fears and all… Undyne knew she wasn’t the best at noticing that kind of thing, but at least, she was certain that Papyrus spoke the truth even if it might have been involuntarily on his part from the looks of it. There was something Papyrus was afraid of and she set it upon herself to discover what it was and why. She just wasn’t sure on the how part yet or why the strange focus on bridges.

She looked at him, advancing, in half steps until he stopped a meter away from the edge. With each step she felt a stab in her soul, realizing what he really feared all along. Her fins drooped a little and she mumbled to herself.

“No way…”

It wasn’t the bridge, at least she didn’t believe so, it was the abyss, the wide gaping hole into nothingness that was right behind her. How could she have not noticed before now? He kept on hugging the wall as he was reluctantly following her here… even now, his eye lights were flickering and focused on nothing else, it looked like Papyrus didn’t even hear her.

Undyne didn’t remember Papyrus ever being afraid of heights before, what happened to him? She painfully smiled and tried putting on her usual bravado, she had to at least try and help him fight this awful fear. No monster could go around the underground with such a fear… there were pits, precipices, and chasms in nearly every location, it would be a highly crippling fear to say the least.

She put her hand out motioning at him to stop, the gesture seemed to grab his attention. He started smiling, she could see it was forced, he was clearly uneasy, this was going to be a delicate matter. She tried talking as cheerfully as she could.

“Hey Paps, that’s the bridge I mentioned right here! Even I gotta admit that’s a mighty one! So, um… got any plans on how you wanna conquer it?”

“Well… um… I… ”

He kept on looking from one side to the other, gripping at his arm. It was painful to watch, how about she tries giving him an escape route? She conjures a magical spear in her hand, pointing it towards the bridge with a taunting smile.

“How about we trash it? Would that make you feel better?”

He looked to his feet still clenching at his arm, the lower part of his face hidden by his scarf.

“Not… really…”

Ugh, maybe he didn’t get that let’s try it again.

“How come? I conquer them that way all the time, it won’t feel a thing, won’t even see it coming, I assure you!”

He looked to his left and extended a finger outward, she could notice a slight tremble at his fingertip.

“That little guy over there would…”

She looked to what he was pointing. Really? An echo flower… She looked at him, of course he would notice such a small thing, that’s just how he was. She continued staring at him, he wasn’t running away… sure he was scared, but she could respect this kind of bravery in the face of his fear. She dispelled her spear and rested her hand on his shoulder softening her gaze.

“You sure you really wanna go through with this Paps?”

Papyrus's gaze was still on the small echo flower, he gulped and nodded once. She smiled softly at him, feeling a weird sense of pride, she could help him do this, somehow. She slammed her thumb on her chest.

“As your captain, I’ll even go in first, just keep your eyes on me and let’s go tell that little flower who the boss of that bridge!”

She could see his eyes shining a little brighter, he was slowly regaining his senses and calming down, this was working! She jumped on the bridge, landing heavily onto it, and turned to face him giving him a thumbs up.

“See it’s plenty strong! Now, let the conquest begin! NGAHHH!!!!”

Papyrus stood straighter, clenching his fists to his sides, his smile now seemed a bit more genuine too. He took a few clumsy steps and stood before the first plank looking down at it with some concern, but when he looked back to Undyne, she just smiled right back at him and beckoned to him joyfully.

He took a step landing his left foot on the plank with his eyes sealed shut, when nothing happened, he opened them back surprised and visibly proud of himself. She turned her back on him taking a few additional steps, interlocking her fingers behind her head, she felt good, this was the best! She knew exactly what to say to keep him motivated!

“Just imagine how popular you’ll get! Man, even I am growing jealous! I wish I had an echo flower chanting my exploits too!”

She stopped at the first bend, listening closely, hearing a few planks creaking, he was still moving.

“Nyeh… heh heh heh... people will sing my name.”

She continued walking slowly, whistling a little tune, she could hear him a few steps behind her, he was gradually moving along faster.

“Yeah! I bet they will! They’ll want autographs, they'll take pictures with you!”

They arrived in front of the waterfall, halfway mark, Undyne looked over her shoulder and could see Papyrus looking to his feet smiling softly, she didn’t know if those were tears in his eye sockets or just water droplets from the nearby waterfall. Somehow this training turned out for the best in the end.

She heard a loud creak from below them, instinctively turning around and grabbing a frozen in place Papyrus by his shirt with her left hand. She tried to pinpoint where the sound came from, eye darting in the abyss below them, it was impossible to locate anything with all the echoing, the falling boulders and the constant flow of water. She could swear she saw something yellow flash near one of the wooden pillars, but when she tried focusing, there was nothing there.

She felt the planks bending and moving under their feet a deep and low rumble followed by another sharper creak that came from the first wooden pillar. Something must’ve hit the pillar from below, a boulder maybe? No… it was way too far from the waterfall...

She noticed a large fissure running upwards along the wooden beam, splinters freely falling from it continuously. No doubt, it was clearly broken. She tried moving one of her feet, making the whole structure wobble precariously.

“Not good…”

She turned to face Papyrus, who was hunched over, his hands covering his face, only noticing now just how much he was rattling.

“Hey! Hey… whoa… Calm down okay… I’ve got you… you’re safe… were not going down… trust me.”

No matter how Undyne tried, she couldn’t get Papyrus to let go of his head. His hands were firmly in place over his eye sockets, his fingers pried inward as if trying to get inside his skull, was he always that strong? His breathing was shallow and way too fast. She had to get them both away and fast. She tried talking to him unsure if could even hear her at all.

“Okay Paps… how about I get you somewhere safe… away from all those pits and loud noises… it’ll calm you down… I promise.”

She grabbed a rattling Papyrus at the waist under her arm, squatting down and gathering magic in her legs. She summoning a spear in her right hand to balance the extra weight on her left side, not that Papyrus was very heavy to begin with. She pushed herself in a calculated jump, using the spear to correct the trajectory of her jump when Papyrus curled on himself in terror. She landed in the middle of the waterfall drenching them both with the resulting splash. She secured her footing and quickly advanced upstream disappearing behind the curtain of water while Papyrus was mumbling something incomprehensible to himself repeatedly.

With a flip of the wrist, she threw her spear, gently grazing a nearby mushroom, its soft glow barely illuminating their surroundings, she moved to the center of the room gently dropping her friend down and kneeled beside him.

“Just breathe man… nice and slow… hold it in… then let it go…”

Papyrus kept on mumbling to himself, fingers twitching and leaving small scratches on his skull. She put her hand on his shoulder and spoke to him slowly, trying to snap him out of his panic.

She continued speaking to him, trying to guide him, to regulate his breathing, it felt like forever before each breath grew further and further apart. He was slowly regaining control, but his hands remained firmly over his eyes.

“Hey… Paps… its over now. You’re safe here.”

She carefully wrapped her fingers around his wrists making him twitch, she tried to gently pull on his arms the see his eyes, still wouldn’t budge. He opened his mouth, teeth chattering.

“… it won’t go… it won’t stop…”

She took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to help.

“What is going with you Papyrus…? Tell me… and maybe I can make it stop…”

His fingers seemed a little less tense, Undyne tried pulling on his arms again, Papyrus had finally let go of his skull. His eyes barely had any light in them, he just stared blankly at his trembling fingers.

He kept painfully silent, his gaze empty and unfocused.

“Paps, what is going on with you? It’s like one moment you are there with me and then you are just spacing out! You just shut off and disconnect into who knows where! Now tell me, what’s up with you!?!”

She could see that some of her words reached him, his eyes locking onto her for a few seconds. He tried pulling his left hand toward his face again, she didn’t let him do so. No way she would let him hide away again, not after falling apart like that!

“… the… itch… wont…”

Papyrus lifts his head up and was starting to look to his surroundings. Undyne tried reading his expression and was finding it quite hard to do so… usually she knew how he felt by looking at him… but, right now, he just looked… awfully calm, almost distant.

“What ‘itch’ Papyrus? What do you mean?”

He was frowning, and looking to the ground, she decided to let go of his arms carefully watching his actions.

“I’m not exactly sure… Undyne, wh-… what is this place…?”

That wasn’t really an answer but at least he now talked to her directly… he must still be confused after going through such a traumatic event like that. She just needed to keep him talking, things would sort themselves out.

“Oh… this. Well, it’s… you could call it a favorite spot of mine… it's pretty soothing right?”

She tried smiling to him, but he just kept on looking around the room, searching for something. He was staring at the ceiling, his expression suddenly changing.

“I… I remember this…”

“Remember what?”

He leaned back further supporting himself with his hands.

“I… know this place…”

“Whaaat you’re kidding right… no one knows about this place, right?”

“I was here… before… and you…”

Papyrus was slowly retreating backwards, pushing himself further inch by inch with his hands and his heels. His eye lights were blurry and looking around in frenzy.

“Hey Papyrus… you’re going back into that state I talked about before. Please, snap out of it!”

“You… you… did something… to me… right?”

He continued moving away, he was almost up to the wall… she was crouching not that far from him, her right hand behind her, ready to call forth a magical spear at a moment notice. What the hell was he saying? She just carried him here, she didn't do anything to him.

“Paps, you not making any sense, please calm down… you’re in no state to wiggle around!”

“I won’t let you turn my soul green… No! Undyne, let me leave!”

His back was now on the wall, using his hands, he pushed himself to a standing position. Undyne was staring at him stunned by his statement, how did he know? No, it didn’t matter, she needed to keep him calm.

“You’re not feeling alright Paps! Just let me help you!”

A tiny bone materialized behind her nudging the mushroom, sending the room back into total darkness, she heard him dashing around the room. Shit. She summoned her spear allowing her to see his silhouette disappearing behind the water curtain.

“Sorry… Undyne…”

She rose to her feet and tried following him, only to come face to face with a barrage of enormous magical bones interlocking from all directions, effectively blocking the exit. She tried slashing at them making them dissipate, but there were so many of them, compacted into the corridor for its whole length… She cussed loudly, repeatedly, even punching one magical bone away with her fist while roaring. Papyrus had successfully escaped her, she felt pained and humiliated at that simple fact.

“Why’d you run away…Papyrus?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This somehow ended up becoming something different from the original planned chapter as it went along, I just followed the flow like a block of ice flowing downstream straight into the CORE! Okay, maybe not that bad but it still felt somewhat fluffy to me.
> 
> Once again, thanks to everyone who made it this far, truly appreciate any and all feedback. <3


	13. P9F6 - Pulling on Strings

Papyrus slammed the door shut behind him, locking it in a hurry and let himself slip down to the floor. His breath was short, his soul pounding hard in his chest.

Why did he run away?

Undyne would be mad at him… would she still even want to be his friend…?

*You’re not feeling alright Paps! Just let me help you!*

He ran a trembling hand down his face, a stinging and burning pain when it ran over the scratch marks and wiping away tear tracks when it slid downward from his eye sockets to his jaw. Everything was mixing up and overlapping their voices, their actions, his emotions… it was just too much, he couldn’t make any sense of it all.

*Papyrus… did she hurt you?”

He felt nauseous.

He had attacked her… used his magic against her in a moment of panic… not even looking back to make sure she was fine… that was unforgivable… how could he even do such a thing…?

Undyne would have made his soul green… he somehow knew she would… and… there was something horrifying about that place… he felt so sure he had been there before… he had to get far away from that place, it would not have ended well.

He brought a hand to his chest, covering his soul, it kept on pounding in his rib cage, something foul flowing through it with every beat.

Still… there was no excuse for what he had done.

*They are all lying to you Papyrus…*

He needed to wash away the horrible feelings, he gathered himself and stood up, laying eyes upon the washroom door, freezing in place at its sight.

Something kept on gnawing at him from the inside, a void in his soul and memories… why did he feel that way? What was he missing?

*Don’t forget…*

A strange sound escaped him, something that was more akin to a sob than a laugh.

“Nyeh… heh… h… eh……..”

Today was nowhere near ending yet… he still had to clean this whole mess…

His voice barely came out, a desperate cry, a laughable attempt which he knew would remain fruitless.

“Sans…?”

He looked around; everything had stayed exactly the same since he had left the house. Sans’s hoodie was still on the carpet next to the couch, the washroom door still open and beckoning to a chaotic mess of wooden splinters and glass shards. The only thing new, was the background growling coming from his very absent stomach… only realizing now that he hadn’t taken a single bite since this whole maddening day began.

He hadn’t accomplished anything today, hadn’t found his brother even after all his efforts, lost his phone, disappointed his friend Flowey, couldn’t conquer his ridiculous fear of bridges, attacked his friend Undyne, and ran away like a complete coward… the least he could do now would be to try and repair some of the damage he’d done.

He glanced at the washroom and rolled up his sleeves, mentally punching himself to action, keeping busy had always been his only viable solution to keeping everything buried deep inside himself.

He grabbed a broom and a dustpan from the kitchen and started gathering all the debris into a single pile, trying as hard as he could to avoid looking in the direction of the shower, he wasn’t ready at all to go back there yet. Too many questions would come up to him and he just didn’t have the answers.

*You deserve the truth Papyrus…*

He flinched, hurrying up to sweep the last shards of glass into the dustpan, forcing himself to ignore the whispers of that unfamiliar voice that kept on nagging him throughout the day… Papyrus found it increasingly hard to push it back into the recesses of his mind as it grew louder and clearer the more the day progressed forward. Just what did it want with him anyway?

He hurries out pulling the door behind him, as if doing so would somehow erase its existence and he heads back to the kitchen, dumping the debris in the trash can, storing the broom and dustpan away.

“Deep breaths… nice and slow… hold it in...… then let it go.”

It pained him to rely on Undyne’s advice after treating her so badly… he’d have to think of something to say for their next encounter… a simple sorry would not be enough. Maybe she’d appreciate another of his bones, she had a drawer full of them after all.

He rests a hand on his growling stomach and glances to the fridge, he knows he should go for a bite… but decides against it, sure it would taste awful anyway. He still hadn’t done enough, he had to do more… maybe he deserved feeling this way for what he had done.

He dragged his feet to the doorframe connecting the kitchen to the living room, leaning against it.

He looked towards the washroom door; it was barely open, unable to close properly because of the damage he’d done to it. He took a few steps, a sharp pain growing in his rib cage. He’d have to face it eventually, he couldn’t keep running away from everything.

His mind was in a haze, he was standing right next to the door, unsure if it was real or not this time around, he didn’t remember walking up to it, nor did he remember extending his hand over the doorknob. The relentless whisper echoing in his mind ever so distant.

*Open it…*

He knew what was awaiting him in there…

*Open it…*

He’d have to face it sooner or later…

*Open it, open it, open it, open it. OPEN IT!*

He pushed the door, sending it slamming into the wall with a loud thud.

His mind finally went silent, the itch subdued… momentarily.

He looked at the door, it was still in good condition, he ran his left hand along the doorframe and the absent door latch, it had taken the brunt of the damage of his physical assault. It’d take a while to repair. He glances at the shower curtain, a tightness growing in his chest, he looks away, opting to avoids his battle body for now. Preferring to leave the room before feeling any worse… he’d fetch some wood from his toolshed to repair the broken frame first.

His eyes lock onto his brother’s hoodie laying on the carpet right next to the couch.

“Brother….”

His left hand reached to his back pocket by reflex, he would have liked nothing else than try calling Sans again, if only he hadn’t lost his phone like a complete klutz… He felt a mixture of anger and sadness go through him. Sans had taken his favorite hoodie and had covered him with it while he was sleeping. He had to somehow repay the kind gesture.

Papyrus knelt on the carpet, straightening the hoodie, getting rid of all its wrinkles, proceeding to fold it neatly, completely disregarding the blurriness in his vision or the water droplets falling on his hands while he concentrated on his task.

He was fine.

He could do this.

He was strong.

He took the hoodie in his arms, stood up and before he knew it, he was standing before another door. He opened it without thinking, his mind strangely numb, his actions on autopilot.

He drops the neatly folded hoodie right besides the flashlight lamp, his hand resting on it, pausing in place.

*Don’t forget, Papyrus.*

His hand wandered, hovering from the hoodie to the desk and coming to a final stop over the drawer’s handle.

He just knew something was in there.

Papyrus opened the drawer a sick feeling growing in his soul, digging his hand through greasy clothes, pushing aside a trombone, his fingers instinctively finding their way to a small metallic hoop. He felt despicable… but he had nowhere else to look at… he needed to know where his brother was… this would help, right?

“I’m sorry Sans…”

Flowey felt so sure this key would help him understand everything… and whatever had been pulling at his soul since he woke up this morning had to be related somehow… everything pointed to that secret room.

*Open it, open it, open it, open it. OPEN IT!*

He grabbed onto the key and dashed out of the room; his objective couldn’t be any clearer.

~~~

Flowey didn’t have so much fun in a run for a long time. With only a little nudge over here and gathering his roots into a small crack of a pillar over there, he made sure Papyrus would never conquer his fear of heights for quite some time. He couldn’t let that interloper fix his toy… he needed him broken, wounded.

Now Papyrus even believed that Undyne wanted to hurt him, it was such a great turn of events.

He had even used his magic against her, to trap her inside, almost hitting Flowey in the process, but he was able to successfully escape by digging out of the way before any of the magical bones could reach him. Flowey stayed behind in Undyne’s ‘secret’ place looking at her struggle against an absurd quantity of magical bones, she wasn’t getting out of there anytime soon. She was swinging her spear in a frenzy, barely nicking away at the magical barricade of calcium, until she just started punching at it. She looked devastated, was it because of her wounded pride, her skeletal friend’s actions towards her or both?

He didn’t care anyway, as long as Undyne was out of the picture long enough for him to obtain what he needed from Papyrus would suffice. He left behind a bloodied knuckled and panting Undyne in pursuit of his main objective, a particularly vulnerable and malleable skeleton with a thirst for reassurance and validation.

He looked outside of Undyne’s secret spot, massive bones protruding outward from the waterfall, Papyrus sure had a large pool of magic for such a small body mass. He turned around hearing a section of the bridge he had damaged finally collapsing into the abyss behind him.

“Enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to the main attraction.”

He approached the skeleton’s house, seeing fresh boot marks leading to the front door. Good, at least the idiot was inside. Flowey just needed to wait for Papyrus to find the key. He tried changing his position, finding a better angle to see the inside from the living room window. He barely caught sight of Papyrus’s red boots going up the stairs.

“Good boy, keep looking and find that silver key for me.”

He looked around the village, lucky for them, no one was out, and the surrounding darkness would cover their movements. No sign of Sans or Undyne either, the coast was all clear, he could safely approach and assist Papyrus in finding the key.

He was starting to burrow when the front door swung open, a skidding Papyrus almost falling into the snow.

“Why the hurry?”

Flowey looked at him, turning the corner once in a hurry and then again, completely disappearing behind the house.

“What!?! Does he have it already? That sure was quick!”

Flowey quickly burrowed, heading to the small patch of wood behind the house. He came out a couple of meters behind an oblivious Papyrus, shocked at how contrasting his actions were compared to the previous time he’d been here. He brushed aside his immediate anger and opted for observation in the current situation.

Papyrus inserted the key, no trembling, no sobbing.

He was standing tall, and although he couldn’t see his facial expression, Flowey could sense a strange determination coming from him. He didn’t need his help this time around, was it the absence of contact with his brother during the day that motivated him or something else? Irrelevant in any case.

*What is he going to do next?*

The door slid open, he stood before the entrance, his silhouette outlined by the dim light coming from the inside. Papyrus’s left hand just moved to his side, opened, and dropped the silver key in the fluffy snow. He took a step inside, Flowey followed silently not far behind him, curious at his next actions.

Papyrus was standing in the middle of the room, fists clenched, outstretched shoulders.

“There, I opened it, just tell me what you want!”

Flowey flinched pulling himself backwards hiding next to the door frame.

*What-?*

His tone was sharp, almost angry… Flowey never heard him using such a tone before… was Papyrus talking to him? Did he know he was there? No, Papyrus’s back was turned to him, there was no way he could see him. Flowey continued observing, captivated by his actions, slowly inching closer.

Papyrus brought his hands to his temples, rubbing at them vigorously.

“What am I forgetting?”

Pathetic, broken, weak.

That was enough observing for now, it was time to comfort the poor broken thing… leaving him alone now was clearly not good for his mental state, Flowey didn’t want Papyrus to lose it too much, he still had to salvage valuable information from him after all. He slowly made his way inside, staying near the entrance.

“Hey there Papyrus! I was looking for you. I see you found the key already! I knew you could do it!”

Flowey was surprised at the absence of reaction on Papyrus’s part, he barely got a twitch out of him. He thought he would’ve thrown himself to him, desperate for any company and attention. Not even a sound, that was anti-climatic, anyway, gotta keep the act going.

“Geez Papyrus! What is this place? Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

At least that got him to move, his hands moved away from his head, slowly going back to his sides as he slightly turned towards Flowey, he looked worn out, exhausted.

“Flowey… you told me everything would make sense…”

Flowey got closer and perked up on his stem, displaying a bright smile.

“Yup, that I did!”

Flowey gestured around him, keeping an attentive eye on the skeleton.

“So, Papyrus, did anything come to mind? Did you figure anything out yet?”

Papyrus just shut his eyes and shook his head weakly, looking defeated.

“No, not really… ”

Flowey looked at him attentively, he couldn’t tell exactly what was going on in that inferior mind of his. But at least he had some of his attention, he just had to keep pushing him in the right direction, the results would just come naturally by themselves. He got closer, extending his stem to be about eye level to Papyrus, gently laying a leaf on his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, he looked like a total mess, the poor simpleton once again had scratches and nicks all around his eyes. Guess his mental state was worse than Flowey had initially guessed. All the better for Flowey, he gave him a friendly rub and pulled him close, Papyrus needed to know he could count on his bestie.

“Aww, don’t be like that friend, it isn’t like you to be down in the dumps like this. You always find something good in everything, how about you show me that bright smile of yours? I’m sure it would make you feel better! It sure would make me happy to know that you’re happy!”

And there it was, that moronic smile, Flowey knew it was forced, an automatism on Papyrus’s part, a ridiculous coping mechanism or was he just trying to please? Nonetheless, it was proof enough for Flowey that Papyrus was indeed listening, time to continue with the plan.

Flowey smiled back.

“I knew the Great Papyrus was still somewhere in there!”

Flowey moved around, acting as if he was investigating his surroundings, twitching a few moments later as if he noticed something for the first time, he extended a leaf, grabbing Papyrus’s sleeve tugging at it gently.

“Hey… Papyrus, come take a look, this looks odd, maybe it will tell you something.”

“What is it Flowey?”

“Here, it looks like a plan, a blueprint, why would something like this be here?”

Papyrus remained silent and delicately put his hands over the paper, fingers tracing the weird characters in a trance. His eyes focused on the intricate designs. This wasn’t the sort of reaction Flowey was expecting, he nudged Papyrus on the shoulder making him flinch and look at him with a puzzled look.

“Ah sorry, did you figure something out Flowey?”

Flowey almost slammed his face on the counter, this was going backwards. Why was he so hard to keep focused today? Flowey rubbed a leaf over his petals looking confused.

“No, absolutely nothing… I mean, I can’t read any of it… but Papyrus, you had that look on your face, I am sure you recognized something on this plan, you can read it right?”

Papyrus just stood there blinking, Flowey poked him with a tendril.

“Oh… sorry about that… I think, I might be a bit exhausted… I don’t see how this will help find Sans.”

*Tch, more like spacing out or absent minded.*

This was getting on his nerves, was he doing this on purpose?

“Trust me Papyrus, there is something right HERE, we need to know what THIS plan says, what it means!”

Flowey moved closer hovering over the blueprint, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t understand a thing about it. He caught sight of Papyrus turning away from the counter mumbling to himself. Where was he going?

“No… this isn’t quite what I am looking for…”

Flowey turned to face him, he was wandering around, heading towards the machine in the corner of the room. What did he just say? It almost sounded like Papyrus had a vague idea of what he was looking for. Flowey asked cautiously, a certain unease at the back of his mind.

“What do you mean by that Papyrus?”

No answer, Flowey would normally punish such an impolite behavior, but something felt off.

Papyrus was leaning beside the tarp, lifting it with his left hand, grabbing a loose part with his free hand, looking at it quizzically.

He dropped the component loosely to the ground with a loud clank. Flowey was growing somewhat anxious, but his curiosity to the unfolding situation left him in the bystander role.

Papyrus was still crouching beside the machine, frowning a hand rubbing along his brow.

“No… not quite… it was smaller, lighter…”

“What are you talking about Papyrus?”

Papyrus turned his head to face Flowey, his eye lights staring right at him. Somehow he was able to grab his attention.

“Flowey, what I am forgetting…?”

Flowey moved back a little, preemptively gathering some roots near the entrance. He had a gut feeling that he had to choose his next words carefully. Was Papyrus remembering something from the previous run? Better tread towards caution.

“What you have been forgetting……?”

Papyrus said something similar when he first came in this room, but Flowey just brushed it aside as the mumbling of a desperate and tired idiot. Maybe there was more to it? He would need to pay attention to every detail from now on. If Sans could remember things… maybe his brother could too? This could be very problematic if Papyrus did remember… certain dusty details…

Flowey kept incredibly still, preferring to remain silent, it was better to let Papyrus expose himself, maybe he could get away with it.

Papyrus was now down on his knees facing him, his left hand still over his brow, but his expression was back to a familiar one, he was lost, confused, desperate for answers.

“I don’t know… everything is weird Flowey… I-“

Vulnerable. Time to strike back.

“Papyrus, I’ve been meaning to ask you… but earlier, who were you taking to?”

“Huh? I… I’ve been talking to you this whole time Flowey.”

“No, you weren’t… you were barely listening to anything I said! I am trying to help you here Papyrus, but you are not being very helpful. I don’t see anyone else helping you like this, you gotta work with me! Or I might as well leave you alone to deal with all of this!”

Flowey knew his words had reached him, playing the disappointed card was always a winning combo. Flowey was slightly frowning, staring down at him, waiting for an answer. He knew exactly which string to pull.

“No please… Flowey…. I…. I am so sorry…. I… please don’t leave…. I…. I’ll make it right… just…. please… I… need your help…. I… I-“

Flowey turned around making his way towards the entrance, knowing full well what this would trigger in his poor little toy’s brain. The threat of loneliness, of losing a friend would be too much to bear.

“No, Flowey! Don’t leave… just tell me what I need to do!”

Flowey stopped, a wide smile covering his features, savoring another complete victory. Playing to his fears always got results. He turned around taking a glance at him.

“Will you listen to me Papyrus? Will you listen to your dearest friend?”

Flowey could see him in the corner of his vision, the Papyrus he knew and loved, the bony toothpick that craved any recognition, the simpleminded fool that would endure anything for the sake of friendship no matter how fake it could be.

“Yes Flowey… I don’t know what to do… I need your help.”

Flowey let out a sigh, turning back to face him with a warm smile.

“Don’t worry Papyrus, I’ll stay… that’s what friends are for, right?”

“Y-yes! Thank you…”

Flowey moved back towards the blueprint. Helping his friend up with a few vines.

“Papyrus, Concentrate! The answer to that puzzle is somewhere on that plan, I know it.”

“Y-yes…”

Flowey moved back a little, observing Papyrus. He now seemed fully concentrated on the blueprint, it was safe to let him work for now. Pulling hard on his emotional string seemed to have snapped him back to reality, but there was still a big concern on Flowey’s mind.

*What was he forgetting?*

Flowey was pretty sure Papyrus never remembered anything through resets before, so why now? What had changed? The only major difference he could note was that his big brother didn’t even speak to him at all compared to originally, but that alone meant nothing… and there was also the drastic difference in his actions compared to before.

Flowey had to make him open the damned door last time, and even then, Papyrus was all trembling and rattling, but this time around… he had opened it from his own volition… and then there was what he said.

Flowey was frowning, curling on himself and twisting his roots trying his best to recall any interaction he previously had with the tall idiot… nothing obvious came to mind, maybe he should have paid more attention?

If he couldn’t remember what insignificant thing Papyrus might have said, maybe Flowey could try remembering what he did?

Flowey closed his eyes, trying his hardest to replay the scene in his head, he remembered going straight for that strange machine and he kept on being bothered by Papyrus.

*Egh… I can still hear him whining even now…*

Something clear sparked in his mind, he looked to Papyrus who was pinching at his nostril bone over the blueprint. If Flowey recalled correctly… he was holding something… a small piece of paper.

Flowey turned to the first drawer in the room, where he remembered Papyrus was standing before he grabbed him and dusted him.

He silently pulled on the drawer with his vine, taking glances at his friend sneakily, making sure Papyrus doesn’t notice a thing, he finds a picture album inside, wrapping a tendril around it and lifting it out slowly.

Something falls out.

A tiny, folded piece of paper.

Flowey picks up the paper, putting back the picture album in the drawer without a sound.

He unfolded the paper, careful not to tear it.

It was a poorly drawn picture of three smiling people, such an idiotic thing, he couldn’t help himself and read the words.

“…don’t forget…?”

Papyrus winced and turned to stare at Flowey with a strange expression across his face. Flowey was hiding the folded piece of paper away from view.

“Wh-what did you… say Flowey?”

Flowey smiled at him, waving a dismissive leaf in his direction.

“Nothing my sweet Papyrus, nothing at all.”

He folded the piece of paper and hid it safely on himself, keeping it for later.

He grinned to himself, he was in control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't they say the brightest of smiles hide the deepest of scars?
> 
> I feel sorry for making them go through all this... Paps deserves some happy.
> 
> Really hope I am not bumming out people. >.<


	14. S4P10 - Loose Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying something a little different for this chapter, might feel disjointed but I hope it comes out at least half-decent.

“Um… Please wake up Sans. This is getting kinda awkward…”

He felt a gentle poke on his shoulder, opening his eyes to a sea of scribbled notes and empty noodle cups.

“ … ugh… Alphys…?”

Sans lifts his head up, painfully setting it straight with his hand with a loud pop, amazed he could even fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position. He hears Alphys small voice beside him.

“Yeah, I know… not the best of sleeping places… been there, trust me.”

He pushes his jaw from side to side getting some soreness out of it.

“Yeah… can only imagine… what time is it Alphys? How long was I down for the count like that?”

Alphys pushes a steaming bowl of noodle in his direction along with a cup of tea, barely looking his way, he senses a tinge of guilt in her voice.

“Not sure, I came back from Asgore’s a bit later than usual, he even gave me some of his favorite tea… um… hope you like it too, it tastes quite good.”

She looks to her desk and points to the pages covered with notes Sans had written.

“You were already sleeping when I came back… you really looked like you needed it too… oh… yeah, I also prepared some noodles, you must be starving.”

Alphys was looking at him with concern, Sans smiled back and pulled the noodle bowl closer, letting its warmth radiate into his hands, he could appreciate the kind gesture. A small respite in his mentally exhausting day.

“Listen Sans… sorry about earlier… I… really needed to complete this report thing… I-”

“Don’t worry Alphys, I understand…”

He took a sip of the tea, eyes opening wider.

“Wow Alphys, this tea, it’s really good!”

Changing the subject did seem to make Alphys lighten up a little, she seemed less tense and was now smiling.

“I knew you’d like it too. Asgore said it really helps reduce anxiety and it soothes the soul, calms the mind. You know him, all poetic and sweet.”

Maybe it was the tea, maybe it was because he had rested or maybe it was just being able to talk to another person after spending so long staring at numbers on a monitor. He felt a little better, putting on a smile that felt genuine.

“Thank you Alphys.”

She looked away for a moment blushing at the compliment.

“Ah-um… it’s n-nothing really!”

She looked around the desk still somewhat uneasy at the current situation.

“So, um… did you find anything interesting? I mean… about what happened with the sensors today.”

Sans put the tea aside after another sip, spreading out a few pages of his notes on her desk.

“Nothing precise yet, but it seems the sensors around Snowdin Valley recorded the largest drop among the various sensors.”

He takes a quick glance in Alphys’s direction, she is staring intently at the notes, brow furrowed, scratching at her chin. Sans can’t help but notice the bags under her eyes… she looked as much sleep deprived as he was, he calculated his words, avoiding her any further worry for the time being.

“Whatever caused that strange reading must originate from the valley somewhere.”

“What do you think caused those strange readings?”

She was looking at Sans a curious glint in her eye. His fingers twitched, almost clenching his fist by reflex, he settled for swatting at imaginary crumbs on his pants.

*I know exactly ‘who’ caused it. Just don’t know ‘why’.*

He winked and shrugged at her, knowing her creation was behind this would only cause her more worry, she had enough on her plate already.

“Can’t say for sure, I’ll go take a look tomorrow, it’ll be easier to find anything out there during the day.”

She looks back to the notes shoulders slumping, somewhat disappointed.

“O-okay… well, could you please keep me informed if you do find anything odd out there? The more I look at your notes… something just doesn’t seem right, I think it’s worth looking into.”

Alphys was gathering all the notes in a pile. Sans put his hand over the notes before she could hand them back to him.

“You can keep the notes Alphys. Be sure to let me know if you figure out anything else from them or call me if the sensors start acting up again, okay?”

She took a quick glance at him, looking serious.

“So, you think this might occur again?”

Alphys sure was sharp. He tried playing it down.

“Who knows… can’t dismiss the probability that it might happen again Alphys. We do need to know more before coming to conclusions.”

Her attention turned back to the notes.

“Yeah, I agree…”

Sans pulled his noodle bowl closer and started eating, its warmth slowly seeping into him, renewing some of his already low levels of energy, guess he was really starving after all. He continued looking at Alphys going through his notes, her silence spoke volumes, maybe she would find something he missed, her input was always valuable.

Sans knew knowledge was his only tool against her creation, bringing her into the whole timeline mess now would serve no purpose as she would just forget everything on the next iteration. He had to do this on his own for now.

Alphys flinches, raising a claw to her temple, she was looking at him somewhat cheerful.

“Oh, um Sans. I forgot to say thanks for making sure they got fed today… it really means a lot to me.”

Her expression suddenly looked a bit sad.

“But… I really think you should get some rest… I can see that you’re tired and exhausted… You know you can count on me too. I’ll keep your notes safe for you, okay. We can continue working on this together tomorrow after you get a good night’s rest. I won’t let you down this time, I promise!”

He felt bad for keeping some things from her, it was for her own good.

“You’re right, I should probably head back… Papyrus is probably getting worried too, he’ll get cranky without his bedtime story.”

They both let out a soft chuckle. Sans finished his tea and headed towards the automatic door, stopping right before heading out.

“Just be sure to let me know if anything comes up okay Alphys?”

“Will do! Take care Sans.”

~~~

_Let’s leave this place for now Papyrus, I don’t think its safe for us to stay here._

_…_

_Don’t worry about that blueprint for now, it’s not like I am mad or anything._

_You always loved solving puzzles._

_I trust you’ll figure this one out soon enough._

_…_

_Your brother might be angry with us if he found us snooping down here…_

_Didn’t you say you found some dust on your shirt in the shower after he was gone?_

_Maybe Sans doesn’t want us to find out about his secrets._

_No one wants to be labelled a liar._

_I have a bad feeling about this, we should be extra careful._

_…_

_Follow me Papyrus, just come with me now, I have something to show you, a secret place of mine._

_I just want you to be safe, you’ll be safe with me there, I’ll protect you._

_Just do as I say, and everything will be completely fine._

~~~

Sans took a shortcut near his house, quite surprised at the fact that none of the lights inside were on. Maybe Papyrus was already fast asleep, which would be a good thing considering the severity of his wounds from the previous night. He walked up to the front door, taking out his keys, stopping when he noticed the door was already unlocked. This was highly unusual.

Sans opens the door slowly, peeking inside the house cautiously. Maybe his brother was too tired and forgot about the front door, it would be odd but not impossible.

“Paps, Bro, you there?”

Only the creaking of the closing front door as a response. He locks it behind him and extends his arms towards the light switch, illuminating the living room.

He taps his shoes removing the excessive snow from them, then lifts his head up, noticing the wide-open washroom door. Sans immediately felt a bit anxious, remembering it was still locked when he left in a hurry earlier today.

He took a few steps, hesitant, approaching an eerie darkened washroom. Only noticing the damage when he got closer.

“Shit.”

Sans ran his hand along the door frame, it had been forced open, the latch strike completely ripped away during what must have been a violent impact. He reached inside and turned on the light, looking to the floor.

Not a single debris of the glass he had accidentally hit beside the sink when he slipped, not a speck of dust on the floor. It was as if none of it ever happened.

He felt his soul tightening in his chest, his brother had been here… no doubt about that. Once again Papyrus had to clean up after him.

*Which means Paps also…*

His gaze locks onto the shower curtain, it stood there, halfway open, beckoning at him to confirm what he feared the most. Sans remembered he had left the water running when leaving… he got closer and knelt down, hand resting on the piece of clothing, his brother’s battle body was barely wet. The water had been turned off a long time ago, this wasn’t good.

“He saw it for sure… fuck.”

Why didn’t he hide it before leaving? Why didn’t he finish cleaning it before leaving? Was it really that urgent to track that damned thing messing with the timeline? Why did he leave his brother behind to deal with this?

He messed up… again.

His little brother had seen his favorite shirt, covered with his own dust. Papyrus would not take this well.

Sans soul feels heavy, he turns towards the sink, a sickening feeling growing in his gut. Even Papyrus’s scarf was gone.

“He really has seen it… how will I explain this to him?”

Sans would have to make sure his brothers was okay, it was his responsibility.

~~~

_I know you want nothing else than to find your dear older brother._

_I am aware just how important this is for you._

_Believe me when I say it is just as important to me also._

_…_

_But you need to think about what he has done to you!_

_How can you say that?_

_Are you sure he even has your best interest at heart like I do?_

_…_

_Then why would he abandon you like he did?_

_He didn’t even answer when you tried calling him, are you sure he even cares at all?_

_…_

_Please, try to calm down, I only want to help._

_Okay Papyrus, you need to listen to me very closely now…_

~~~

Sans heads upstairs in a hurry, knocking softly on his brother’s door, he knows Papyrus is a light sleeper.

Not a sound, he gulps.

Papyrus never locks his door, Sans opens it and tiptoes into a pitch black room, ignoring the ‘No Sans’ sign on the door.

“Hey Paps, you asleep?”

The tightness in his chest grows at the ongoing silence, the heaviness threatening to make him fall with every step. He whispers, his voice almost cracking.

“I could really go for one of Fluffy Bunny’s adventures, would you like that too?”

Sans conjures a magical blue bone dimly lighting the bedroom.

His discovery of an empty race car bed only leaves him frozen in place. Sweat was rolling down his skull as his mind was racing, jumping from one thought to the next, trying to find any explanation or answer to his current plight. Where was his dear brother?

Maybe Papyrus was still out? No, he would have locked the door.

Maybe he was still at Undyne’s place? They did have a training session today.

Sans takes out his phone, noticing way too many missed calls, a prickle goes through his soul when he notices one of them coming from his dear Brother. If only he hadn’t set his phone on mute, maybe all of this would be different. Most of the other missed calls came from his boss Undyne, he gulped, no doubt she’d be mighty pissed at him.

He tries calling his Brother’s phone.

No Answer, it goes to voicemail.

He tries again, almost letting out a sob when it finally reaches voicemail.

Maybe his phone was out of battery?

“Brother, just where are you right now?”

He desperately needed to know that his brother was safe, he needed to make this awful feeling gnawing at his soul go away.

He gulped, apprehension at the upcoming conversation. Silently praying his phone would survive Undyne’s decibel output. He entered her number in and called.

“Please, please answer…”

~~~

_I can help you with that, trust me, I am your best friend after all._

_II want nothing else than for you to succeed and be happy Papyrus._

_We’ll figure out the truth together!_

_…_

_You look terrible Papyrus, such awful wounds you have, you should rest, I’ll even heal you._

_You just need to sleep._

_I am sure you will be able to meet Sans in your dreams, that way you can talk to him and ask him all about %$#@! &._

_Huh!?! What’s with the strange face friend, don’t you believe me?_

_Hee hee hee!_

~~~

“SANS!!! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?!”

Never had Sans been happier to hear his Boss’s voice, he tried to get a word in, but was unable to overpower her loudness.

“Do you have ANY idea just HOW MANY TIMES I tried calling you?!?”

“Und-“

“You couldn’t pick any worse timing to just disappear like that! I swear, sometimes you’re just the Worst!”

“Undyne please, let me-“

“Oh no you don’t! I won’t let you a single chance to weasel yourself out of your punishment! Trust me when I say I’ll work you down to the bone! Now just tell me where I can find your brother, I have some words for him as well!”

“Ah… wait, aren’t you with my Bro right now?”

Sans could hear a low growling in his phone, she was processing his response, taking long deep breaths.

“Don’t try anything funny with me now! I know you are hiding him from me!”

“Why would I be hiding him? I am LOOKING for HIM!”

It seems she only could understand when he yelled in return. He could hear her breathing slowing down.

“Wait… aren’t you with Paps right now?”

“No! That’s what I am trying to tell you! He is not home, I don’t know where he is!”

“And what makes you think I do?”

“Well duh! You had a training session with him today did you not?”

“Yeah, we did… well, sort of at least… did you know he is scared of height? He had a full-on panic attack on me and believe it or not he even tried running away, from ME!”

Sans made a conscious effort to keep his anger in check, he feared his brother would have other panic attack episodes, but he wasn’t about to try and discuss them with Undyne… at least not over the phone, and certainly not now. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself. Finding his brother was more important right now.

“Yeah, Bro told me he fell somewhere, not sure where or how though…”

“Must have been something recent, Paps never had that issue before.”

“But hey… I have to know something Undyne.”

He couldn’t help himself.

“Yeah? What is it punk?”

He tried keeping a straight face, not that it mattered anyway.

“My bro really tried running away from you?”

“I literally just told you that! What’s your point there?”

He was no longer able to suppress himself from smirking.

“By the sound of it and the fact you don’t you where he is… I am guessing he did more than just try, he successfully slipped away from ya right? Kinda proud of my little bro there.”

“…”

The unnerving silence suddenly made him quite uneasy.

“… Undyne?”

Somehow he could feel her deadly gaze through his phone, sweat running down from his head to his neck. He could already spell his doom.

“DON’T YOU EVER GO SPREADING THAT TO ANYONE!!! NO ONE ESCAPES ME!!!”

“Whoa, whoa! Just kidding, just messing with you, I don’t really intend to tell anyone boss… But seriously Undyne, I need to know if you have any idea where he might be? Tried calling him twice, but he didn’t answer…”

He heard her letting out a long sigh, somehow he had successfully reduced the threat level of this conversation.

“Yeah, that won’t work, Paps said he lost his phone in the river.”

“Huh!?! Lost his phone in the river? How did that even happen? What the hell did you make him do this time!?!”

“Hey! Don’t go blaming me for every single thing your brother does! I tried calling him too and got all worked up when he didn’t pick up and when I met up with him, he told me he lost it when jumping off a boat.”

“He did WHAT!?!”

“Hey, don’t ask me! He pulled that insane stunt all on his own. I am not responsible for any of that shit! Wish I had thought about it first though… sounds so awesome.”

Sans pinched at his nostril bone and sighed; this was getting nowhere.

“Undyne, please, I need you to focus, he’s not home and I am getting quite the weird feeling about all this, I really need to find him. The sooner, the better.”

“Yeah you’re not the only one worried… it’s odd… he was also looking for you… where were you?”

Sans didn’t know what felt worse, knowing he wasn’t there when his brother needed him or the fact that Undyne didn’t even sound angry anymore… she was right… why wasn’t he there…? He slumped his voice barely coming out.

“It’s… complicated…”

Undyne must have caught some of his desperation in his tone and quickly followed up.

“Think he might still be out there looking for you? He’s sure to try looking for you at Grillby’s, maybe someone saw him there! I’ll ask around in Waterfall and head over there soon okay?”

Sans’s soul felt a little lighter, it was a sound idea, Undyne could be excessive sometimes but you could always rely on her when things got bad.

“Okay, let me put on something warmer and I’ll meet you at Grillby’s, we can start from there and search the valley.”

He hung up and left his brother’s room with renewed resolve.

~~~

_Just think about it, you’ll be able to confront all of them about all their lies!_

_And don’t you worry about a single thing Papyrus, I’ll be here taking care of you._

_I’ll wake you up if you have a nightmare my dear friend._

_Remember you are safe with me, I would never hurt you._

_I am not like any of them._

_~~~_

Sans pushed the door and entered the room, turning the lights on to the chaotic mess that he called his bedroom.

He silently wished he could hear his brother nagging him to clean his room.

He made his way to his clothing cabinet, noticing his favorite blue hoodie perfectly folded laying on top of it. It was clearly the handiwork of none other than his dear brother.

He slammed his fist down in anger.

Why did his brother always take the time to do all these small things…? Even when he was in pain he always did his best to make things right…

He takes his hoodie, throwing it over his shoulders, his arms naturally finding their way into the sleeves. The familiar coziness filling him with a renewed sense of purpose.

“I’ll find you bro, just wait for me.”

He headed out to Grillby’s in the hope of finding any clue to his brother’s whereabouts.

~~~

_Remember what I told you, I know you can do it Papyrus._

_Come find me at our secret place as soon as you can!_

_I’ll be waiting for you my sweet friend._

_You can rest easy…_

_And…_

_…_

_-DON’T FORGET-_

~~~

“Greeting Sans!”

“Hey Sansy! What took you so long??? Been waiting foreveeeeer, come sit with me…”

“Hey Sans! What’s up?”

Same old tedious routine, greet everyone with a wide smile, a wink or a wave, throw a few overused bad puns around and they all cheer and laugh and smile, but it all feels so much emptier and hollower today. Is his smile even on properly? He keeps on turning to look at the entrance, half-expecting his brother to barge in and scold him.

*Is this how Papyrus felt when he was looking for me during the whole day…*

Sans was not up to it tonight, he leans in, looking at the canine unit playing a card game. Dogamy looks at him smiling under his helmet.

“Hey Sans, we haven’t seen you around at all today? Been busy in Waterfall or Hotland?”

“Heh, you know me, laziness is a full-time job.”

Dogaressa turns towards him looking cheerful.

“Wanna join in? We can start a new game if you want Sans.”

“Nah, just dropping by, looking for my little bro, any of you seen him around?”

Doggo perked his head up.

“Seen him? Was he moving? Is he here right now? No, he ain’t here.. he’s too loud I would’ve heard him for sure.”

Dogamy and Dogaressa looked at each other then back to Sans, both replying after the other completing their sentences.

“Hmm, I didn’t personally see him today.”

“Neither did I, didn’t pick up his smell out of town either.”

They looked at each other again, letting out a soft whimper.

“But we did hear people talking about him when we came back in Snowdin.”

“Yeah, apparently he startled a few monsters in town.”

Sans perked up, intrigued by the dog couple’s revelation.

“Really? What did my brother do?”

Doggo put his cards down, eyeing his surroundings cautiously, he gave a silent nod to the rest of the canine unit and leaned in closer, bringing a paw next to his mouth whispering to Sans.

“He was being too loud, apparently he yelled at someone.”

Sans looked at him doubtful, this didn’t sound like something his bro would do.

“Who was he yelling at?”

Doge whimpered, Dogaressa gave him a gentle rub on the shoulder looking sad, she turned to Sans.

“That’s what they were all wondering… people were saying nobody was near him when he yelled.”

What were they even saying? Surely this was some elaborate prank from the villagers… he knew is brother was not the most popular monster in town but this just felt cruel. He sensed he wouldn’t get any more information than this from them.

“Thank you for letting me know all this, I really appreciate it.”

He gave Dogamy a gentle pat and threw a few magical bones on the table, before leaving the table.

“Anytime Sans, you’re the bestest!”

No matter how he tried turning it in his head, Sans couldn’t find an explanation for what he had just heard, he looked around, there wasn’t much more information he could gather from the remaining monsters.

He sighed, might as well grab a drink while waiting for Undyne to show up.

He walked up to the bar, hopping on one of the free stools. He could see a flicker of flames in his old pal’s face, Sans lift his arm up stopping him in his tracks.

“Won’t be here long Grillbz, just waiting for my boss to show up.”

Grillby flared up for a brief instant in shock, then stared at Sans silently, his worry was justified, last time an angry Undyne came looking for Sans, his place had sustained a certain amount of damage. Grillby had been lucky the place was mostly fireproof.

“I know it doesn’t look good but don’t worry, she’s not angry at me.”

His flames briefly turned darker, his gaze was serious, he wasn’t buying any of it.

“Okay, okay, not exactly angry... Truth is, we’re looking for my little bro, we can’t find him, we thought he might have dropped by looking for me at some point.”

Grillby put aside the shooter glass he had been washing, his hand reaching under the bar looking gloomy. He shuffled around, digging out a vintage bottle of aged condiment, opening it and pouring the thick liquid in a small glass.

Sans looked at Grillby putting the bottle away and pushing the glass towards him with an understanding glow. Grillby was always keen, picking up on the subtleties in Sans’s reactions.

He took the glass raised it to his silent confidant and downed the delicacy in one go.

It sure delivered quite a punch, he could feel the heat spreading through all his bones.

“Phew! Thanks Grillbz, needed that.”

They both exchange a silent nod before returning to their own tasks.

Sans looked to the door, Undyne should be arriving anytime now.

He hopped off from his seat feeling slightly dizzy from his drink, maybe he should wait for Undyne outside.

As he reaches the door, his phone beeps once then twice in quick succession, he takes it out, barely having the time to read Alphys’s first message.

*Sensors are picking up strange readings again.

A painful stab goes through his head, almost making him fall to the ground.

He knew that awful feeling all too well.

“Shit. What now? Why now!?!”

The world cracked and distorted around him, realities overlapping in a mix of blinding lights and devouring shadows. The burning sensation in his left eye was unbearable, the pain never got any better no matter how many times he had to endure it.

*That damned thing, stop messing with the timeline!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Expect slower updates for the next 2 weeks -
> 
> As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Only wish to learn and improve. <3


	15. S5P11 - Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My inability to explore all possible outcomes is saddening, sometimes I think I should have kept myself from posting any of this and kept it as the chaotic mess it is in my head. But I need to be judged, I need to expose myself to learn, I have to observe the results.

Sans’s vision slowly adjusted back, the burning sensation in his left eye gradually diminishing until it was but a subtle itch inside his skull.

He brushes the tears covering his face, he was back in the damned washroom again, kneeling over his brother’s drenched battle body.

He extended his right arm turning the water off and sat down staring at the ceiling holding his boiling anger down.

He couldn’t do a single damned thing, just another piece in a disposable board game, cursed to play by someone else’s rules.

He wanted to throw the glass into the wall, to smash to mirror to pieces, to tear the curtain down, to scream his rage, but it wouldn’t change a single thing, it was all completely pointless, he was alone in this struggle, always was and doomed to remain as such.

Sans gathered himself and stood up, stepping out of the shower, closing the curtain behind him and took a towel to wipe the dripping water from himself.

There was little left for him to cling to in this endless cycle, this magical prison that was the underground. If only he could forget the countless resets like any other monster, maybe then he could see the world like Papyrus did and hope for something good.

“Papyrus…”

He glanced at the door feeling some comfort in the simple fact that his brother would be waiting for him on the other side of that door. He’d be on the sofa, probably still sleeping soundly, recovering…

This time he wouldn’t leave him alone, he’d stay there for him.

At least, he could fix this one mistake.

Sans opened the door silently, his soul pulsating with a soothing warmth when he saw his brother slowly sitting upwards on the couch, staring blankly at the blue hoodie next to him.

“Mornin’ Bro. How are you feeling?”

Papyrus was rubbing his head with his left hand, he looked groggy and was probably still in pain. Sans secretly wished he were as good at green magic as his brother.

“Is your head any better Paps?”

He turned his head towards Sans with dimly lit eyes. “No… not really.”

Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned backwards onto the door frame, an old habit he got a long time ago, it felt weird without his hoodie though... “Take it easy Paps, you’re not entirely patched up, you should rest a little more.”

Papyrus looked to his feet, still holding his head. “No… I am already rested.”

Sans tilted his head sideways and smiled. “Come on Bro, this lumpy thing can hardly be called a fine resting place-”

Papyrus grunted and outstretched his arms in front of him angrily. “I hate all this! I hate it!”

Sans jumped a little at the sudden burst of emotion from his brother, that anger sure came out of nowhere. He continued smiling as if nothing happened. “O-okay… What do you mean Bro?”

His arms dropped between his knees, all traces of any anger completely gone, he sighed. “I-I can’t explain… everything is just messed up…” Papyrus turned his head to look at him, waving his right hand in his direction. “I mean you’re not even really here…”

“O-okay… care to elaborate on this?” Maybe his bro was still dizzy or confused. Sans tried to lighten up the mood, hitting his sternum with his fist a few times. “I can assure you I am here alright!” He winked. “Not quite in the flesh but you get what I mean, right?”

Papyrus dug into his pocket taking out his phone, dropping it beside him. “Figured as much… now it's back…”

Sans hated the weird feeling growing in his gut, his brother was barely listening to him again, when did they become so distant from one another? If what Undyne told him was accurate, he was prone to panic attacks. Sans needed to get him to talk about his trauma, about his fall, somehow. He would need to provide Papyrus with a safe environment so he could open-up to him.

“Okay Bro, you know what? Today, you’re staying with me. We’ll design new puzzles, watch MTT, look at sports cars, anything you’re feeling up to ‘kay? How does that sound to you?”

“Sans… There is No Today!” He waved his arms in the air, shook his head. “All this isn’t real! None of it is… its all in my head…” He curled up on himself, a choked sob escaping him. “I couldn’t find you… and… I”

Sans stopped leaning on the doorframe and took a few steps towards the couch, his arm extended to try to reach his brother. He couldn’t stand seeing him like this. “Bro please, tell me what’s on your mind, I can hel-“

“STAY AWAY!!!” They both flinched, Papyrus’s gaze was fixated on Sans with a mixture of fright and sadness.

“Wh- Bro?” Sans was frozen in place, was Papyrus scared of… him?

His frightened gaze turned to his feet. “Please, stay away… I…” Papyrus kept his right hand extended in Sans direction, trying to keep him at bay, his left hand was still over his left eye. “I need to…” Sans could see him struggling to form his thoughts, his eyes were darting from left to right frantically, is breathing was inconsistent, something about his behavior felt painfully familiar. “I… have to ask you…”

Sans kept quiet, observing his younger brother attentively. This wasn’t the kind of opening he expected, but at least Papyrus was trying to talk, the least Sans could do now was listen to him attentively.

“Sans, why are you hiding things from me…?”

He smiled softly, slightly tilting his head. “What do you mean? I ain’t hiding anything from you!”

Papyrus slammed the ball of his feet on the rug. “Yes, you ARE!”

“You’re still injured Bro, please… let me heal you.” Sans tried taking a step forward, completely brushing off Papyrus angry response.

Papyrus’s right hand dimly glowed, his magic gathering into it instinctively, defensively. “NO! S-stay away from me!”

Sans cautiously took a step back, open hands raised to his shoulders. “Why won’t you let me near Bro?”

The magic surrounding his hand dissipated, his arm relaxing a little. “Y-you’ll hurt me…”

“WHAT!?! Papyrus, I would NEVER hurt you! You kn-”

“Then WHY do you have my shirt in the shower? WHY is it covered with dust!?! WHY can’t I remember things properly? WHY does my head hurt so much all the time…?”

“What… how did you?” Papyrus shouldn’t know about the dust on his battle body or it being in the shower, Sans had removed it while he was sleeping. Did Papyrus somehow remember that through the last reset? And if that was correct, what had triggered that sudden change? Papyrus never remembered anything before. Sans looked at him anxiously, what else did he remember? Sans`s voice was shaky almost cracking. “You… remember about that Paps?”

“Tell me the truth Sans, please… why did you hide that thing from me?” Papyrus kept his hand on his left temple, his eyes revealing severe exhaustion, his breathing was still unsteady.

Sans was uneasy, his brother was serious about this and it wasn’t about his favorite shirt. He answered, unable to look him in the eye, fearful of his brother’s upcoming reply. His soul felt so heavy, he couldn`t risk exposing himself, there were too many things he hid over the years, he had to clarify what Papyrus meant before answering. “Hide, what… exactly?”

“That thing in the basement Sans! What is it?”

Sans took a step back in shock, his back hitting the wall. “The bas-“ How did he know about that?

Then it hit Sans all at once, the recent resets, the sudden shift in his brother’s behavior, the way Papyrus spoke, his strange questions. Sans remembered his brother vaguely asking if there was anything under their house the other day… was he asking about the basement back then too? No… Papyrus wanted to know if something existed under the house… he hadn’t been there yet… his current question implied he did access it somehow.

And right now, didn’t Papyrus just mention that ‘he had to’ ask him… meaning that damned thing had to be behind his brother’s current mental state. Sans couldn’t even get near his brother, it had to be its fault. Why didn’t he think of it before? Alphys’s creation had to be related to all this… there was no doubt in Sans’s mind that it had been in the basement with his brother.

*Using my brother to blindside me… dirty bastard.*

“… No way… Is that what it’s after…? Fuck…” He took a quick glance in the direction of his room, hesitant. He was starting to sweat, he had been too careless, this was bad. He turned to his brother, unable to hide the anger in his tone. “What other lies did that damned thing tell you?” His mind was racing, all the implications, the risks, it was too much… he had to make sure. He ran upstairs as fast as he could, leaving his puzzled brother on the couch.

“Sans! Wh-Where are you going?”

He slammed past his door, hearing his brother’s footsteps not far behind in the stairs, dug his hand into his drawer with deadly precision, the key was still there somehow. He was out of breath, he turned around and to his dismay, shouted angrily at his dear brother.

“What else does it know? You can’t let that thing near the basement! This is too dangerous Papyrus!”

It was too late, Sans could clearly see it, his own brother, the only family he had left, backing away from him with an expression he had never seen before.

Betrayed, deceived.

“Everything Flowey told me…… was true… Sans… how could you lie to me…?”

This couldn’t be a mere coincidence, that thing had gotten to him. It was using his brother to obtain information and access his workshop… why didn`t he hide it better? No… why didn`t he destroy the whole thing? Machine, Blueprint, everything… it’s not like there was any hope to escape this everlasting nightmare... Sans spoke more out of desperation, hoping he could still reach his beloved brother somehow.

“That thing…” He swallowed his words, his brother had given him a name, something to direct his hatred at. “That ‘Flowey’ got to your head bro, it’s using you!”

“That`s not true… he’s my friend… he w-”

“It’s lying to you! Can’t you see that!?!“

“No… It`s not true… he’s helping me… h-”

“NO, HE’S NOT!!! He’s not your FRIEND! He’s the one hurting you like this!!! Don’t you trust your big Bro?” Sans was looking at him, praying his brother would realize what was going on, hoping he could still trust him on this single one thing right now.

Papyrus was hunched over, his fingers twitching and grabbing his arms. “Sans… he told me the truth… about you……” His eye sockets devoid of any light. “But… why did you lie? Why lie to… me? I’m your brother… we’re… family…”

Sans’s limbs could have detached and fallen off here and now, how could he even begin answer to such a question… his hands were rubbing on his skull. He couldn’t figure out any way to clear this up. “I didn’t……” There was no simple explanation. “I… had to……… you wouldn’t understand…”

“Then please explain it to me Brother!” His gaze was dead serious, unflinching, frightening.

His brother’s reply pierced through Sans’s soul as if it were one of Undyne’s magical spears with deadly precision. Papyrus was reaching to him and not the other way around like Sans had hoped… Sans was the one being judged for his sins and by none other than his own sibling… He was brutally aware of how his next reply could very well change the nature of their bond from this very instant on.

“I…”

Sans could hear his bones rattling, he lifted his head, locking eyes with his brother. His soul was being torn, he hid so much from him… and for so long… how could he even begin…? How could he even explain any of it…? Papyrus wouldn’t be able to handle the truth… no… he… the rattling was intensifying. Sans promised to himself he would protect him… he had to keep him in the dark… ignorance was the best choice… there would be too much pain otherwise… right?… Sans looked down at his own hands, his vision blurred.

What a failure of an older brother he turned out to be. Nothing to aspire to, far from a role model in any way shape or form.

“Pap… I…”

This was his burden, and his alone… it was his way of protecting him… he clenched the silver key and took glance at his brother who was still painfully awaiting his reply.

Betrayed, deceived… abandoned. Once more.

“Please forgive me Papyrus… I can’t... I’m really sorry…” He took a step back, surrounding himself in a coat of blue flames. “I… love you, Bro.” He transported to one of his shortcuts in the blink of an eye, barely hearing Papyrus’s last heartbreaking plea.

“Sans! Please don’t lea-“

There was no turning back now, the damage was already done, he fell to his knees in front of the precipice, shouting his inexistant lungs out in an agonizing cry, the heat wave drying the tears on his face as he threw the silver key into the glowing pit, watching it being devoured by the bubbling inferno of molten lava. He hugged himself, facing away from the precipice, a sick feeling growing inside his chest as he kept on muttering “I’m sorry…”, “I can’t…”, “you wouldn’t understand…” to keep any other thoughts from taking over or saturating his mind.

~~~

Everything was surreal, the pain unbearable, his head pulsating with every thought, his chest, an aching void tearing at his soul.

Why did his brother abandon him like that? Why again?

Why couldn’t he wake up from this never-ending nightmare?

When would it stop?

Sans’s eyes, the way he looked at him… he could see Sans’s suffering, his torn soul in that single instant… he repeated the words to himself trying to grasp a fleeting emotion. “I… love you Bro…” Sans meant it… but why did he feel so empty right now? Perhaps his brother’s love was just a figment of his imagination.

He let himself slide down on the wall, hands clutching at his head.

“I wanna wake up, I wanna wake up, please wake me up, wake up, wake up… I don’t like this, I don’t like any of this… make it stop, please stop… please don’t leave me here… I… I don’t know what to do… I want to understand… I am trying my best… I-”

He couldn’t breathe properly, the tightness in his chest preventing him from doing so.

It was too hard to stand, he leaned on the wall.

*I love you Bro*

His Brother’s parting words clung to him; each syllable painfully engraved in his soul.

Contradicting thoughts waging war in his mind.

If Sans had hurt him… why would he even say that? Was it another lie? Was he being used like Sans claimed? He could still hear Flowey’s voice in the back of his head.

*Think about what he has done to you!*

Papyrus’s hand reached for his neck, trying to loosen his scarf, it was choking him. But there was no scarf. “Of course…, just a dream… all in my head… nyeh heh heh… heh… its not real… none of it is.”

*I love you Bro*

He pressed his clenched fist on his forehead grinding his teeth, trying to keep himself focused. Why were these imaginary words resonating within him? They weren’t real, Flowey had said so, he…

*Are you sure he even has your best interest at heart?*

He had to call Sans, reach his phone, get to the couch. He needed to make sure, to hear his voice again and ask him. Ask him another time… he would surely answer this time… Sans would…

*Talk to him and ask him all about %$#@!&*

The lights were growing dimmer, what time was it? It couldn’t be night already or was it? This dream was so confusing.

He could barely see around him, where was the damned light switch… it should be around here somewhere.

He could not move forward anymore… Hmm? Was that the rug on his cheek?

So dark… why didn’t Flowey wake him up yet…?

So heavy… who was that %$#@!& anyway? It didn’t sound like Flowey’s voice back then…

So exhausted… aren’t dreams suppose to make you feel rested…?

He felt numb, empty… was he dying?

…

No, Papyrus knew this sensation, he remembered it all too well.

…

No light… no sound… nothing to hold onto, time, directions, it all held no meaning here… only him and that all encompassing darkness.

…

He remained still, face against the ground, the rug wasn’t there anymore, gone, replaced by something cold and uncomfortable. Papyrus shut his eyes, trying to concentrate, he’d been here before, surely he could get out from whatever that strange place was once more. He just had to remember what he had done the last time, right?

But it wouldn’t work, Undyne wasn’t around this time… how would he find the exit on his own?

Deep breaths, concentrate, what else could he sense around him, there had to be something, anything.

Papyrus was trapped in this darkness, but he wasn’t quite alone, no… something else was there, exactly like the last time, its presence shifting around him continuously, watching him, observing him.

He felt uneasy knowing he was under the invisible gaze of whatever was out there with him, his words were glued to his throat… but what other option did he have…? He had to give it a try.

“Who are you…?” Papyrus’s words resonated in his mind, relieved when he realized he still had his voice this time around.

The presence shifted around, near and far at once, to his left a second and slightly to his right the next, a familiar yet unknown voice replacing his own in his mind.

*Does it really matter?*

Of course, it wouldn’t answer. Papyrus clenched his fist next to his face in annoyance, it seemed no one took time to properly answer any of his questions as of late. He pushed himself into a sitting position laboriously, wincing multiple times in the process. It was no use trying to move around in this complete darkness and it proved to be way too painful to do so right now.

Papyrus brought his left hand to his chest, covering his throbbing soul, why was it hurting this much?

*Are you in pain?*

Papyrus could feel the presence hovering just behind his shoulder blade. He tensed up, turning his head in its direction, but it was no longer there… not that he could have seen it anyway. He was too vulnerable in this position, too exposed, completely blind to his surroundings. “W-why are you following me? What do you want from me?”

There was no reply, it simply gathered its scattered presence in a single location in front of Papyrus, observing him in an unnerving stillness.

Papyrus clenched at his ribcage a fresh stab of pain coming from his soul, gritting his teeth to fight the tearing sensation in his soul. The pain was getting too intense, he didn’t have time for any of this madness, he had to try and leave while he still could think somewhat clearly, that thing had to leave him alone, the sooner the better. “I don’t even know you, leave me alone!”

It strangely remained still a few feet in front of him, unfazed by his aggressive tone. *Of course… of course…* Papyrus felt something reaching for him, some sort of warm energy, flowing through him like radio waves, a foreign sensation of melancholy and pain flooding his soul, mixing with his own feelings and somehow momentarily erasing his pain. He fell backwards on his elbows and patted at his ribcage with his hands, confused, what was all this? How could it do that? What was it doing to his soul? Why…… was he sad?

The foreign feelings faded to nothingness within a few seconds, and to Papyrus’s puzzlement, the tear in his soul was slightly mended and nowhere as painful as it was prior to whatever had just occurred. He lift his head up to face the mysterious presence, squinting, finally noticing something different, he could barely see and outline to what could only be described as a mass of blurry shadows.

The conglomerate of shadows looked like it was crouching or sitting and barely out of arms reach. Papyrus couldn’t make out anything else but its outline, but he could still feel its gaze never leaving him.

“What… are you…?” He extended his left hand in its direction, trying to reach it, touch it, curiosity overtaking everything else.

The presence scattered anew, crumbling to the floor, distancing itself in all directions, receding back out of Papyrus’s range of sight. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t see anything anymore.

“What do you want? What did you do to my soul? Who are you?”

Papyrus flinched hearing something scratching inside his head. The presence was shifting around erratically.

*You have… too many questions…*

Papyrus had nothing but unanswered questions, he kept the thought to himself. It didn’t seem averse to communicating with him, although it seemed rather limited in its responses, it was not hostile towards him. Papyrus ran his left hand over his sternum, it maybe even tried to help in some strange way. The feelings that flooded into his soul earlier, they could only come from that thing… maybe that would get it to talk more.

“Those… feelings earlier… did they come from you?”

It stopped moving, every scattered part of itself perfectly still.

The silence lingered, but Papyrus would not yield, waiting patiently, the voice finally reaching his mind like a distant echo.

*You… deserve the truth… seek the truth… Papyrus.*

“The truth…!?!” How was that supposed to be an adequate answer, it answered nothing!

It remained silent, painfully so.

A low static noise started ringing inside Papyrus’s head, its origin kept on shifting, circling from every direction. He pushed the strange sound aside, he needed to know what it meant, it spoke to him, knew him for sure. He tried once more, speaking louder so he could be heard over the static.

“What Truth? Tell me!”

*They are all lying to you.*

The air was growing heavy, the pressure around him kept on increasing, pining him down where he sat, a force that was similar to his blue magic, but much stronger. The static kept on getting louder and closer, its pitch going higher and higher until it completely saturated his mind. Papyrus shut his eyes trying to bear the pain when he felt something on his shoulders, hands with fingers that felt all too real, sending a shiver down his spine. Its voice, coming from behind him and from within his mind at once in an unsettling perfect unison.

**_“*You’re the only one I trust… you’ll figure it out.*”_ **

He shot his eyes open in shock, gasping for air.

Everything was gone, the pressure, the darkness and that thing was no longer behind him.

Papyrus was back inside his house, somehow.

Laying facedown on the carpet within arms reach of the couch, breathing heavily.

Papyrus ran his hand on the carpet, it felt real enough, neither soft nor rough, fingers opening and closing on its surface.

“They are all lying.”

He was slowly calming down, staring blankly at his fingers, repeating the gesture over and over, listening to the sound of the fabric rubbing against his gloves almost in a trance.

“They are all lying.”

There was little doubt about that fact, and it was pointless to even try and deny it… but shouldn’t he be feeling worse about it? Papyrus wasn’t exactly sure how was he feeling about anything right now. How could he be so calm and detached when he couldn’t even be sure what was real and what wasn’t around him?

“It knew me…”

Papyrus dug his fingers in the rug, frowning. “Seek the truth…” Sure does sound easy when put into simple words like that… but how?

He pushed himself up, slowly rising on his feet, his soul was still aching, but he could still manage that level of pain. He glanced at the sofa, the reflection of his cellphone’s screen catching his attention. “Sans…” His hand reached for his phone, his brother held some answers, he entered his number, his thumb hovering over the call icon, something cold running through his spine down to his fingertips.

Papyrus shifted his gaze to the second-floor railing, looking at his brother’s open bedroom door, expressionless. He could still hear his brother’s cracking voice.

*I had to… You wouldn’t understand…*

*He didn’t even answer when you tried calling him, are you sure he even cares at all?*

He opened his hand, letting the phone slip from his grasp, hearing its screen crack when it hit the floor. An accurately fitting sound. Flowey was right…

“Sans abandoned me… brother doesn’t trust me. He won’t answer.”

His gaze shifted to the ceiling, arms dropping to his sides. “And he took the silver key with him…” A distorted smile crept up his face. “Of course he would do that.” He chuckled, fists clenching, knuckles cracking softly.

He continued laughing slowly, unable to control it, a sob sometimes escaping him. How could he be laughing? None of it was funny, he felt angry, confused, pained… he was desperate, knew he needed help but wasn’t sure where to start.

*Come find me at our secret place as soon as you can! I’ll be waiting for you my sweet friend.*

He shut his eyes and sighed, muttering to himself calmly. “Seek the truth, Papyrus, seek the truth.” He could still hear the strange presence’s voice repeating in his head, strangely motivating him, encouraging him to continue through this madness. Flowey would be disappointed with him, but it didn’t really matter now did it not?

*You’re the only one I trust… you’ll figure it out.*

Papyrus left his house through the front door heading straight into the forest, following the path Flowey had showed him, determined to find out whatever those truths were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extra long delay on this one, so much going on and its just been hard really, no excuses there.
> 
> Tried playing around with merging dialog and actions, maybe I'll get the hang of it with time.
> 
> Don't think I'll be able to provide another chapter before a little while all things considered, but will slowly work on it, rest assured. I am somehow keeping it together.
> 
> Sending love out to all of you a little late for valentine's day - <3


	16. A2F7 - Glimpse into the Rift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more trying something different, to create a different feel I hope to some events of the chapter. Hope it turns out somewhat as intended… experiments, experiments, trying to find and define my own way of writing things, sorry if it ever breaks it for someone.

She takes the long way, prefers to walk the detour, less likely to come across anyone that way, avoiding any unnecessary discussions, any painful question. Clutching her notes in a tight hug she presses on, it’s the only thing that mattered now, get to king Asgore, present the monthly report, go back into seclusion.

Keeps her head low and makes herself small, knowing very well she is easily recognisable with her lab coat and her signature yellow scales.

Something catches her attention in the corner of her eye, a bright flash coming from behind a rock formation. She pauses, intrigued, hesitates, but ultimately decides against it, her duties as a scientist take precedence, she has to produce results.

Picks up the pace, small quick steps, could almost see the conveyor belt not far up the path.

Could swear she hear a scream coming from behind her, she freezes and clenches her report, trying to justify her actions.

She didn’t hear anything really; it was probably just the vents.

This path was mostly abandoned, everyone used the elevator instead, much faster and safer that way.

Somehow she finds herself turning on her heels, her steps taking her towards the rock formation from earlier, has to make sure, ain’t worried or anything… just curious… she boldly lies to herself.

She circles around the boulder and gasps, unable to breathe or move, recognizing a scene that hits too close to home. She pressed her notes against her chest dulling the painful sensation in her soul.

Knows what she sees.

Knows how it looks.

Been there before…

Won’t let it happen to someone else...

Even less so to someone she knew.

Please don’t.

Drops her notes and starts running, the pages of her report scattering, blown away in the scalding wind coming from the nearby precipice, it didn’t matter, she’d make another one, not that it contained anything important to begin with. Time felt like it slowed to a crawl, her body was light, she moved effortlessly, unaware that she could cover such distance with each step, her vision was clear, focused, unblinking, her hand reaching out…

…

He didn’t notice, his back turned to her, his shirt blowing against his frail body with every heat wave coming from the infernal maw.

…

Only a little further, don’t call his name, don’t let him know.

…

Cinders floating around him as he continued staring downward, not that many monsters could endure such heat.

…

Stars, please make it in time, don’t move an inch, stay right there.

…

Please stay…

…

…

Caught him.

Her claw was able to grab his shirt and pull him away from the edge with strength and swiftness she didn’t know she possessed.

She pins him to the ground a little further, both claws on his shoulders and looks at him angrily, her own tears drying before they could escape the corner of her eyes. His body was limp, any will it previously had, gone. His eye sockets absent of any light, unable to look at her when he barely managed a whisper.

“Alphys… help me...”

She yelled, couldn’t believe her voice could even come out so loud.

Not even sure what words came out nor, in which order they did so, was she even making any sense at all?

Throat hurts… shouldn’t have shouted like that.

What a mess…

Unable to stay mad, not for real at least…

She let go of him, kneeling beside him, her hands shaking, realization at what she had just somehow accomplished on her own.

Saved a soul, a friend, a colleague.

It was in her nature to just extend her help, it felt right, was right.

She could somehow still do good, with these very hands, with herself.

His next statement came as a shock, never seen him this angry, not for real, not like that.

His face is distorted, pained, filled with rage, his left eye glowing like a deep blue flame.

The vessel, her creation.

Somehow, had gotten to his brother, to Papyrus.

She knew the weight of those words, the dept of their meaning.

It was the worst thing she could have heard coming from him.

Another entry added to her ever-expanding list of mistakes, yet another broken thing she couldn’t fix.

Another meaningful bond torn apart by her constant failures.

~~~

How long would Flowey have to wait, he was almost sure Sans wouldn’t be able to speak truthfully with his brother. he knew just how much of a quitter Sans was and no matter what he tried explaining, there would always be a scar, an indelible mark of his betrayal, Papyrus would never trust him the same way again and maybe this time it would even carry on through the timelines. Such a perfect and permanent low blow! If only Flowey could witness it.

He let himself fall flat to his back on a large rock, staring at the cave’s stalactites peacefully.

Yet, he wanted the cake and the frosting, if even possible at all. Flowey knew he exposed his hand to Sans by letting his brother confront him, but he wanted nothing more than to hurt him right now, pour salt on a fresh wound, let Sans know his sibling was now HIS to play with and control. A key pawn Flowey would use to the fullest against Sans.

He pulled his head up, looking towards the entrance to the cave further up the tunnel, he could see the dancing snowflakes in the reflected daylight, the weather was often violent in the tundra, today wasn’t going to be an exception.

It was all a gamble really, and one Flowey was willing to take, Papyrus would make the right decision, he’d come back to him, he was sure of it. “He’ll come back for the sweet nectar of friendship, into the thorny embrace of complete dominion. Hee hee hee!”

Flowey looked behind him, deeper in the cave, tittering, kicking loose pebbles into the open emptiness of the naturally formed hideout, his victory complete as it could be in his mind. Knowing all too well what the cave held in the alternate timeline, he held onto that save file very dearly within himself. He’d make it count, didn’t want to exert himself again that much, the damned thing was heavy enough already and he barely even managed to get it out the door, that alone was a feat he didn’t want to attempt again.

Flowey turned his attention back to the entrance, sighing. He always hated the waiting parts, but it was yet another test of his, to make sure Papyrus could remember information through different timelines. Flowey guided Papyrus through a specific path making sure to show him key visual references along the way to his secret hideout.

“He’ll remember the path, he’ll make it here.”

He wasn’t even sure if the idiot would even be able to figure out any meaning behind that blueprint or that strange machine… Papyrus was too simpleminded for anything too technically advanced or science related that Sans had his hands in. Everyone could tell who the talented one was between the two, there was no comparison at all. And now, that he held the key that jolted Papyrus’s memory back, Flowey was a bit intrigued… it was just a stupid drawing, but he reacted to it, to the words on it… ‘Don’t forget’ so dumb, so simple, but why? What meaning could that ridiculous thing hide? What did it mean to Papyrus? Surely there was more to this than he could presently figure out.

Flowey folded the drawing and hid it under a flat rock, he’d come back to it eventually.

He stretched and slapped his cheeks a few times with his leaves trying to keep himself from dozing off.

“Need to sit this one out, Papyrus WILL make it here I am sure.”

They would work alongside one another, figuring out Sans’s hidden secrets. Turning that blueprint or whatever that machine was against him, ruining his reputation, pushing him over the edge. So many possible outcomes, each one more interesting than the previous.

Flowey couldn’t wait for his favorite toy to arrive, all broken and desperate, he’d care for him, give him the attention he craves, the affection he needs. He’d wake him up from this ‘illusory dream’, keep him to himself, like a potted plant, completely isolated from the rest of the underground. Papyrus wouldn’t need anyone else in his miserable life after all.

“I’ll be the only thing he’ll ever need, best buds, quite literally.”

~~~

Sans didn’t talk much when she demanded an explanation, insisting instead on them going back to the lab. She came up with and texted a lame excuse to delay her meeting with Asgore. Alphys knew Asgore wouldn’t be angry, not really, already had her suspicions Asgore simply enjoyed the company and secretly wanted to check on how she was doing anyway. She didn’t deserve such a great boss.

The walk back was awkward and felt longer than it probably was. Couldn’t let go of his hand, didn’t fully trust him to do something unthinkable, why did the underground have so many deadly pits anyway? It was just too ridiculously easy if one just wanted to…

Alphys held on tightly, Sans’s hand felt so frail, weightless and was covered with nicks and scratches, how did she never notice this detail before today?

Literally working himself down to the bone, surely he’d have laughed it off on any other day.

The automatic door slid open, startling her out of her thoughts. He glanced at her with a strange gleam in his eyes, causing her to release her grip, she knew he wouldn’t do anything foolish now, not here. He headed straight for her desk, logging in, opening various log files, screens of raw data stacking behind one another. He took a crumped piece of paper, straightened it out and started drawing a rough layout on it, marking multiple locations one after the other while going through all the log files.

It was clear Sans was onto something.

This was all too fast, too efficient.

How could he come up with such precise information in such a short delay?

Those coordinates, the values, how could that even be?

There was nothing out there, nothing but the frozen tundra and its numbing bite, its raging winds and blizzards.

He digresses, won’t budge, adamant that the vessel had to be around that area when the sensors were triggered this very morning.

How can he know about all this? She didn’t tell him anything about the sensors or the alerts related to them, she surely intended to eventually when it would have come to it, but the fact remained that she did not.

She confronts him about it.

He is unable to sustain her stare, shuts his eyes, she’s never seen him looking this spent, she is sure her expression would fit that description as well.

He shakes his head and stares back at her with a dead serious look.

States he knows a lot more than he lets on, surely he’s trying to change the current mood…

Says he’s barely able to keep track of how long things been this way, where is he going with this?

Claims that he’s been through so many iterations of the timeline, this couldn’t be real, had to be a joke of some kind…

Insists that he’s seen her and everyone dead, that he himself died more than once to her creation, that they all seen the surface in some of the timelines, tells her details only she could know. Her body trembles, she can’t fully comprehend how any of this could be true, but somehow she believes him, starts to understand the reason behind his actions… how did he even manage to keep himself together through all this? How long did he have to endure all this?

Sans continues, eyes drifting to the ground, almost muttering to himself about how he watched Papyrus get killed, didn’t do a single thing, letting it happen over and over, without lifting as much as a finger, knowing he’d eventually see him again on the next iteration, see his smile again, hear his laugh. How he selfishly wanted to keep him smiling, keep him blissfully ignorant about how everything kept on repeating itself, about how none of it mattered, about how he simply gave everything up.

Alphys wasn’t sure Sans was even talking to her anymore, she let him continue to drain everything from his mind, calmly approaching and wrapping her arms around his trembling body in a snug embrace.

He was losing momentum, his voice interrupted by hiccups and sobs, he couldn’t believe that thing pit his brother against him, that never happened before, he couldn’t manage that… Papyrus meant everything to him, without him he… he…

She hugged him tighter, rubbing her hand in circles on his back. “I understand.” He twitched and clung to her lab coat in desperation letting tears he kept for too long finally escape him.

Kept on whispering how sorry he was, how all of this was his fault, how he wasn’t ready for the responsibility… to which she could only hold her embrace and reply.

“I understand.”

~~~

Flowey was running out of pebbles to kick when he finally saw something appear at the cave’s entrance amidst the snowstorm. A silhouette appeared in the entrance, gradually getting closer, its shape slowly getting clearer, it was him alright, no doubt about it. Flowey would recognise that silhouette anywhere, Papyrus really did make it back, and sooner than Flowey anticipated he would have, such an efficient toy.

“Papyrus, my friend! I Knew you’d make it here!”

Flowey couldn’t see Papyrus’s expression yet as he was slowly descending into the tunnel, patting away at the snow that clung to his clothes. What would be his reaction, what result did this ‘dream’ bring forth? How much more broken and desperate would he be?

He beckoned to him with a friendly expression. “How did it go? Did Sans tell you anything interesting?”

Papyrus stopped a few meters away from him, face partially obscured, “No, he ran away.” Flowey couldn’t quite see his expression but there was no hesitation in his tone. “Took the key with him.” He could hear his glove stretching around his clenched fist.

*Is that a hint of anger I see? How refreshing!*

Flowey continued smiling, tilting his head slightly. “Oh, is that so? Why would he do that to you? Aren’t you family?”

No reply but the clicking of his teeth, odd, Flowey would have expected something a little more expressive… Whatever, Flowey was fine with it, he likes this serious Papyrus.

Flowey observes him attentively, he is standing still, his eyes locked further into the cave behind Flowey at the large natural room, not making a single sound. Time to set in the final nail into his mind, time to shatter him completely. He moves in closer, standing straight on his stem, taking in a deep breath before his grand reveal.

“You have been lied to for your whole life Papyrus! Kept in ignorance by your own brother because he does not see you his equal nor does he trust you, making you do all the chores and pulling your legs for his own personal amusement making you the local clown. Realise just how he has been controlling every aspect of your life up till now. You struggle daily to try and make friends while he is the most popular in town. He even got closer to your dream job than you, did Undyne not give him a job as a sentry, his he not manning multiple sentry posts? He also works with Alphys, another person you look up to and admire, did you even know that? No because he doesn’t tell you anything, ever! And Undyne… how ironic that the very person that trains you regularly and that you look up to, constantly denies you your one and only desire! I’ve seen sentries not even half as strong or brave as you among their ranks! Who are they to even do this to such a kind and great soul as you Papyrus? They have no right to do this to you any longer! Didn’t you just want to help and contribute and feel recognized and appreciated? Yet they simply laugh and laugh and think you are but a silly simple child they can push around. It’s about time you wake up and assert yourself my friend! Show them what you can really do!”

He didn’t budge, didn’t react, still staring blankly at the room behind Flowey.

It sure felt like a great speech… was it wasted on him? Was it too much for him?

Why couldn’t Flowey read his reaction?

Flowey started circling around him slowly, perplexed. “Nothing to say?”

Papyrus finally set his gaze on Flowey, expressionless. Flowey could swear he saw a subtle orange glow to his eyes or was it the refracted light coming from the entrance? “Why didn’t you wake me?”

*Was that a threat?*

No, it’s just because of how tall he is. Flowey continued circling around him, winking, and pulling his tongue out. “Aww don’t be like that Papyrus! You didn’t die, there is no danger here, this is all in your mind you know, just some weird dream where you can say all you want my friend, get everything off your mind!”

He brought his left hand over his ribcage a hint of pain on his barely lit features. “Maybe I died.”

“What’s that Papyrus?”

His hand and his expression returned to their original state. “It doesn’t really matter Flowey, just wake me up, I don’t like any of this.”

Who did he think he was ordering around like this? Flowey could have easily snapped his tiny neck in two, but he knew better, he had standing proof that Papyrus remembered things, better play it extra safe. Flowey put a leaf across his shoulders, inviting him to follow him. “Hee hee, just make yourself comfortable further in Papyrus, you’ll be awake soon enough! I just need to do something else before, you stay right here okay?”

The only response he got was a silent nod while he slowly followed him deeper into the cave, his left hand covering his skull.

Flowey was somewhat uneasy at the current state of mind his puppet was in, but he was still obedient, he could probably chalk it off as his new reality slowly sinking in with what seemed to be a painful headache. Surely he’d end up breaking down in a sobbing mess sooner or later and seek Flowey for comfort, he’d be ready for it.

*Play it safe, don’t mess anything up, hide your tracks.*

He slowly headed out into the frozen waste, he didn’t mind the biting wind or the numbing cold, at least it was something he could still feel even without a soul.

~~~

Sans was stubborn, but Alphys remained inflexible, she wouldn’t let him leave, not alone.

He refused, obstinate, saying it was too dangerous, that only he stood a true chance against it.

Maybe her reply was too harsh, maybe she retorted too quickly, guilt and shame washing over her as the words left her.

“And shouldering everything on your own brought any better outcome?”

He took it in silently, fists clenched, his gaze to his feet.

Unfair, cruel, painful truth.

The heaviness in the atmosphere said it all.

Both, unable to break the silence.

Both cut from the same cloth.

What she needed to do became clear.

~~~

Flowey shook the thin layer of frost partly covering his stem and leaves, his movements were slowed, his vision greatly reduced into the growing blizzard. He needed a reasonable open space to dig his roots in, a location where the underlying soil was soft enough to burrow deep and gather enough energy.

He couldn’t compromise his hideout, had to choose his locations wisely when moving through timelines, knew who was on his trail, knew just how dangerous he could be, how angry he would be now that he had openly declared his intentions to him.

He shielded his face from the wind using his leaves, growling his name with hatred. “Sans…”

It would be a showdown of wit and perseverance, but he wasn’t alone in this confrontation, he had Papyrus, the machine, and the blueprint. He was obviously on the winning side, the odds stacked in his favor.

He probed the ground with his roots, still too hard, too many rocks, too dense, can’t reach deep enough.

~~~

Alphys can’t help Sans if he doesn’t trust her, she breaks the silence, admits he’s right, she is in no way strong or tough and should refrain from following him, Sans is surprised by Alphys’s statement but remains still. She says she’s sorry, she had no right to judge his actions when she also attempted the very same, he flinches and looks pained.

“I’m sorry…” He rubs his forearm, his eyes slowly locking back into hers. “I didn’t know…”

“Don’t apologize…” She clears her throat and smiles. “I was also lucky someone happened to be around back then… talked me out of it…”

Could feel the weight of his gaze down to her soul, had to keep her momentum, had to get it all out, “Things get too heavy sometimes… and it’s okay, um…” She bit her lip, this was so hard, she tried to keep herself from stuttering. “I mean it’s okay, to share… to let others in… to...”

“Alphys…”

She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, she had to go through with this. “No Sans, we’re friends… I won’t let you bear that load alone, I…”

“Alphys, please.”

Shook her head, feet firmly planted, she would stand her ground. “Sans, it’s okay you can trust me, I want to help… I can help… I know I will!”

She felt his hand rest on her shoulder softly and opened her eyes, he stood before her with a kind smile and an exhausted look in his eyes.

“I trust you Alphys…” He glanced aside for a moment before looking back at her. “Thank you… for earlier… for everything… you are helping, you really are.”

She wiped at the tears budding in the corner of her eyes with her sleeve.

He backed away a little, looking angry, his hands tightening on her shoulders a little. “It’s just that, I know that thing won’t go down without a fight and you wouldn’t stand a chance, it wouldn’t even hesitate to dust you… I can’t let that happen.”

She looked at him intently. “I’ll help you.”

He frowned. “You can’t go!”

She stomped her feet on the ground. “Yes I can! Let me help you MY way!”

He extended his arms outwards. “How!?!”

She extends her hand out. “Your phone, hand it over.”

He complied shocked at the strange request, Alphys snatched it and browsed into the handheld device swiftly, claws typing at lightning speeds on its screen. “There… this… and, okay got it all!” She handed the device back smiling proudly, adjusting her glasses with her free hand.

Sans took the phone with a puzzled look. “What did you do?”

She moved beside him, scrolling to, and pointing to few configuration screens on his phone. “If you enter these values here and there, it will let you connect to the sensors and see their data almost in real time, as long as you have their names.”

He flinched and looked at her in amazement. “Alphys… you… this is.”

She looked away and blushed. “I know I can’t go with you, but this will help you track its movements with great precision…”

“I don’t know what to say… It’s amazing really!”

She looked to her feet, “No it really isn’t… this kind of connection will drain your cellphone’s battery… you’ll have to be quick to track it down…” she knew she was throwing him headfirst into danger. “Sans… please… just promise you’ll run away if things get too ugly.”

Sans put his phone back into his rear pocket. “I promise I will.”

She turned and jumped back into her seat, opening multiple graphs on her computer. “I’ll monitor everything else from here and let you know if I spot anything.” She took a glance at him unsure how things would turn out. “Please make sure your brother is safe Sans… and be honest with him, I know you can… you were able to with me.”

Magical flames appeared in his hands steadily growing and enveloping his arms, his expression resolute with a tinge of pain. “I know… I have to fix this whole mess…”

She ran her hand behind her neck nervously. “And if the timeline ever shifts again… know that you can rely on me, okay? I might not remember things like you do… but, I will always help you.”

She looked at him vanish from her office without a trace, knew he could do such a thing but never seen it from up close. With what could be his final words repeating in her mind, she looked at the remaining magical flames die out beside her desk.

*Thanks Alphys, I owe you everything.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words be the paint, Sentences the brush strokes that create a cryptic portrait into one’s thought process. How one reads and interprets the presented result is also unique to each person and their baggage of experience and core beliefs.  
> I truly find it all amazing, these silent yet magical exchanges, the invisible bonds between minds.  
> Weird & awkward point is : Seek brains you love but not in the way undead gents would. <3  
> Or maybe something along the lines of shut it ya crazy wench and just post content! ~whichever you prefer :P


End file.
